The Yours and Owls team are set to launch their latest event this weekend – A Sunny Afternoon, the family-friendly festival complete with a stellar lineup of well-known Aussie acts including Missy Higgins and Something for Kate. A performer of many talents, we spoke to Kate Miller-Heidke: singer, songwriter, composer of Muriel’s Wedding – The Musical and Eurovision contestant.

Words Kate O’Mealley

Wollongong’s newest festival, A Sunny Afternoon, is on this weekend – how did you get to be a part of this lineup?
They just asked me and I said yes! I think the lineup is brilliant and there’s a lot of acts I’ve been a fan of for a long time. The organisers, Yours and Owls, put on reliably fantastic events – I think it’s going to be really brilliant.

It’s a family-friendly festival, do have any tips for kids and concerts?
My son Ernie, he’s three, came to see me perform for the first time about a month ago when we played a mini festival – Paul Kelly’s ‘How to make gravy’ show. His dad was on stage with me playing guitar and we were both so excited that he was seeing us perform. I asked him “What was your favourite part of the show?”, he said “I had a Calippo” [laughs]. It’s funny, even though he might not indicate it at the time, live performance really leaves a lasting impression on him. Whenever I’ve taken him to a live show it seems to cast a long tail on his psyche.

When was the last time you toured Wollongong and the south coast
It’s been a while – a long time actually! I’m coming with my new band and have never played there with this lineup. So, I think for those who that have seen us play before, this time will be a little bit different.

In terms of your playlist, what can we expect to see? A bit of old and new?
Yeah, pretty much. It’s a fairly short set so it’ll be snappy, but people might recognise ‘Zero Gravity’ from Eurovision. And we might do a song from Muriel’s Wedding – The Musical that I wrote, plus a couple of new songs from the new album that nobody’s heard yet.

Let’s talk about representing Australia at Eurovision in 2019. Do you get a lot of people asking about the staging [performing on five-metre high swaying poles]?
The poles won’t be coming with me to Wollongong – it is quite a major operation. I do really hope that we get to do that again someday, but it requires a lot of time and money!

Since competing in Eurovision last year, have you discovered a new group of followers? How has it changed?
Yeah, it has. I think it has also been a way for people to reconnect with my music and rediscovered my back catalogue. They’ve come back into the fold, so to speak.

You’ve handed the Eurovision baton over to Montaigne for the 2020 competition, have you given her any advice? Did you get any advice from previous performers?
I did. I had some good chats with Guy Sebastian and Dami Im about it and had a really long conversation with Montaigne the day after she won. She knows I’m on the other end of the line anytime she wants to chat about it because it is, like in terms of the intensity of the experience, I think it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It’s a rollercoaster ride. You’ve got to hold on to what really matters.

You’re about to tour with former Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst and drag performer Trevor Ashley, how did the tour come about?
I’ve been really dear friends with Trevor for over a decade. We met when performing in Jerry Springer – The Opera in Sydney in 2009. We’ve been great friends ever since, but I’ve never gotten to perform with him. It just made sense. He asked me to do three shows with him and Conchita and it just sounded like it would be too fun to say no! Conchita has been practicing harmonies to ‘Zero Gravity’ and they sound beautiful.

Muriel’s Wedding – The Musical has been such a huge success for you, other than performing, do you have you any other projects in the works?
I can’t reveal all the details right now, but it looks as though we’re going to have a season of the show overseas later this year. We’re back in workshop mode to just slightly adapt it, not too much, but a little bit for an international audience, so hopefully the show continues to have a life.

And albums, what’s in the works?
I’ve finished recording a new album. It’s going to be mixed very soon and will be coming out in the middle of the year.

‘A SUNNY AFTERNOON’ TICKET INFORMATION:

$99.90 – General Admission
$159.90 – VIP
$49.90 – Kids (4 – 17 – must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian)
$229.90 – Family ticket (2 x GA and two x Kids)
Kids under 4 are free