Life changing experience for regional teens

Writing and performing their own songs with acclaimed singer Nancy Bates gave Port Lincoln cousins Davinay and Lyndah a powerful boost of self-belief, highlighting the transformative impact of her regional workshops.

“The girls all came away from it  – you could see the confidence it had given them,” Davinay’s mum Jenna Richards said.

“And it gave them a different outlook on life. They’re all very anxious and they usually find it difficult to engage but they were so excited by this and they’re still talking about it weeks later.”     

The workshop, part of Nancy’s Still Talkin’ Bout a Revolution tour, also had a profound effect on other participants including their fellow Port Lincoln High students, Jenna and other local women.

Working closely with Nancy and her bass player Flik Freeman, also inspired the teenagers to pursue music more seriously.

“(It’s shown them) that there’s different things that can let out your creativity. Davinay was saying that she is learning the piano at school now,” she said.

“She was like ‘Oh Mum – I’m really liking music now’. 

“It’s been difficult for her to engage with school this year. But, this really just brought her out of her shell and she could get up there (on stage).

“(Nancy and Flik) did something really special with the workshops – they made you feel like you can (achieve that too), if you want to.”

The Port Lincoln stop was one of five workshops during Nancy’s statewide tour. The sessions are part of her ongoing commitment to give back to regional communities.

The Barkindji woman knows firsthand the power music has to transform lives.  She was only 11 when she first heard African American singer Tracy Chapman’s iconic Fast Car on the radio.

 “(I was) eleven-and-a-half years old listening to Fast Car and everything she said, and every word she sung, I could just feel it and it just resonated. And I wanted my own fast car and I wanted to take off from the life I was in,” Nancy said.

“I was living under the guardianship of the minister and that’s not a nice life. Very disempowering – it was the most disempowered time in my life under the protection system … And then Tracy comes on the radio and sings something like this and when she said ‘I had a feeling I could be someone’ – so did I. “

For Nancy, connecting with the regions is more than just performing – it’s about sharing a creative process that builds lasting bonds.

“You need to connect with the local artistic community and give them an opportunity to share something,” she said.

“I think every artist who travels through regional community should be dropping workshops or at least having some conversations, gathering with the local arts community and particularly schools, and kids.

“It’s our inherent responsibility to the next generation”.

And the impact of these workshops goes both ways.

“It’s that old cliché  – you know when you give something it comes back to you tenfold,”

“When you can go into a community and involve them in their creative process, or the songwriting process together, it connects everybody in the room.”

Nancy has found some of her deepest creative connections in these workshops where small groups of people who love music and storytelling unite to craft songs that reflect their shared experiences.   

“We write a song together and that song bonds us for life.” 

Image courtesy of Jenna Richards