Missy Higgins is an Australian singer-songwriter best known for her emotionally raw, poetic lyrics delivered with a laconic Australian inflection. Higgins grew up in a musical household playing piano from a young age before taking up guitar as a teenager. She began composing her own music while a student at Geelong Grammar School, and at the age of 15, penned the song, ‘All For Believing’ as part of a school assignment. The song was secretly entered into a triple J Unearthed competition by Higgin’s sister and the resulting win saw the song added to regular rotation at the national broadcaster.
As a result of this success, Higgins was offered a contract with record label, Eleven: A Music Company, who supported her to finish school and take a longed-for gap year before releasing her multi-platinum award-winning debut album, The Sound of White. Over the past two decades Higgins has built a loyal live following, and has become well-known for her support of social causes including wildlife conservation, mental health and refugee advocacy, both as a songwriter and as performer.
In this interview with Jane Gazzo, Missy Higgins discusses her early experiences learning piano via the Suzuki Method as a child, her life-changing triple J Unearthed win, and the importance of digging deep to find the material for songs that connect with audiences on a personal level.
Interviewer: Jane Gazzo
Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017
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As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music as part of our Long Play Series.
27 апр 2020
