I first met Bob Brown in 1999 when we had both contributed to a book of ‘coming out’ stories by Erin Schale called Inside Out.
I found Bob to be genuine and kind, insightful and open. Reconnecting with Bob after moving back to Hobart has been incredibly uplifting. I was thrilled to be invited by Bob to performed at his Earth Celebration Concert at Cygnet Folk Festival in 2018 shortly after I had relocated to Tasmania.
It was a meaningful collaboration as I am passionate about preserving Tasmania’s rugged and wild landscapes. I performed a song from my third album titled ‘Across This Land’ written about connection to the earth and the respect I have for the aboriginal people and culture. Bob’s ability to galvanise community and bring people together around environmental issues over many decades is incredibly inspiring to me.
So it was without hesitation that I jumped at the chance to work with Bob on his new recorded work. I was approached by Bob’s musical collaborator, local pianist and composer Steve Crump to record and produce Bob’s latest album of spoken word and poetry titled Hidden Vale.