It takes a brave and humble musician to hand over the main verses of one of her most popular songs to an audience member she’s never heard sing.
And it takes a brave 13-year-old to get onstage before a theatre full of people who came to hear Kate Miller-Heidke sing and instead be the one to perform one of her songs for them.
Tocumwal’s Macey Brasher accepted the challenge, though, which was only presented to her while waiting in line at the show with her mum, Sharnie Brasher, at Riverlinks Eastbank last Friday night.
Con: Not much time to prepare. Pro: Not much time to overthink it.
Sharnie has been a fan of Miller-Heidke since she was a teenager herself, and, by default, Macey inherited her mum’s taste in the versatile musician’s voice, which appears to effortlessly cross several kinds of complex genres of music from contemporary pop and folk to musical theatre and opera.
On Friday, Miller-Heidke also showcased her skills on guitar, keyboards, tambourine and other percussion instruments, as well as making music with her hands, face and body.
Georgia Mooney had opened the show for Miller-Heidke and her partner Keir Nuttall and warmed up the crowd with her strong and sweet voice while telling hilarious tales between tracks. If she ever decides music isn’t for her, she has another career waiting in comedy.
Once Miller-Heidke and Nuttall graced the stage, they lulled the crowd into a state of wonderment with the singer’s ethereal operatic tones, teamed with the pair’s catchy harmonies, complemented by a pop music polishing to ensure it appealed to everybody there.
Miller-Heidke and Nuttall spoke warmly to the intimate crowd, sharing life stories and amusing anecdotes.
It didn’t feel like a cookie-cutter performance. It felt like if you missed Friday’s show in Shepparton, you wouldn’t ever see it anywhere else, despite the Catching Diamonds tour taking in 55 locations. When you call up a local to share the spotlight with you, it automatically becomes a one-of-a-kind gig.
Macey had sat patiently to be called throughout the first hour or so of Miller-Heidke’s performance, just a few rows back from the stage in the audience.
The star had posted about her impending arrival in Shepparton on her Instagram story the day before the show. Sharnie responded to it, saying, “Can’t wait to see you; me and my daughter are coming down for the show”.
“As we were waiting to be seated, I had a look at my Instagram and I had a message from Kate saying, ‘Hey Sharnie, does your daughter sing at all?’,” Sharnie said.
The mother and daughter agreed it was a true ‘oh my gosh’ moment.
“Macey said, ‘I have to do it. I’m so nervous, but who gets the chance to do that?’,” Sharnie said.
“I’m not a singer; I just like singing out in the backyard and stuff,” Macey said.
Although now, after rocking the stage with her angelic voice alongside Miller-Heidke for the star’s certified gold poignant track about passively observing bullying, Caught in the Crowd, becoming a career singer might just be on the cards.
“Maybe, if I get some singing lessons,” Macey said.
Macey didn’t get to choose which song she’d accompany Miller-Heidke for, and Sharnie suspected the song — about befriending an outsider only to give in to peer pressure and abandon him in a time of need — was carefully chosen by the star to perform with kids at her shows to raise awareness about the effects of bullying.
As it turns out, it’s one of Macey’s favourite Miller-Heidke songs anyway.
The teen, who has only been ‘caught’ singing once before a crowd a few months ago at school, said, “Standing next to Kate was very stressful.”
“It was weird and exciting; like two emotions mixed.”
The Catching Diamonds tour still has several remaining Victorian dates, including Echuca on September 26.
For tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/4etcusht