Yawuru artist and Collarts Music Production student Sascha is performing at The Long Walk before Dreamtime at the G, and it means everything.
There’s a story Sascha tells about grade two. She walked out onto a school stage with a song she’d written with her friends, stomach full of nerves, and discovered that the feeling on the other side was worth every bit of it. That moment planted a seed.
It took a pandemic, a brother messing around on GarageBand, and a friend quietly submitting a university application on her behalf to make it grow into something real.
Sascha is a proud Yawuru woman, currently studying Music Production at Collarts in Melbourne. This month, she performs at The Long Walk, the annual event inspired by AFL legend Michael Long’s historic 650-kilometre walk to Canberra, before Dreamtime at the G at the MCG.
It’s a significant moment for any artist. For Sascha, it’s deeply personal.
“When I called my Jalbi* to tell her I was booked to play The Long Walk, I could hear the excitement in her voice. She said my favourite phrase to hear: ‘that’s too deadly!'”
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A lightbulb in lockdown
Sascha had always known she could sing, but translating that instinct into something sustainable felt distant.
That changed in 2020, during Melbourne’s first Covid lockdown, when her brother started making beats on his phone. Within weeks, Sascha was writing and producing her own songs and uploading them to SoundCloud. The response from friends was immediate. So was the clarity: this was something she needed to pursue seriously.
What followed was a few years of building, writing and performing, until she hit a wall. She had the songs and the voice. What she didn’t have was control over the full process.
“I was super frustrated with my inability to bring my songs and ideas into the world at the level of quality I wanted, and I was tired of waiting around for producers to get back to me.”
A friend had spoken highly of Collarts. Sascha looked into the music courses on offer and production stood out as the missing piece. But university had always felt daunting. She was still on the fence when her friend Sinead stepped in and submitted the application on her behalf.
“I consider that moment to be a massive turning point in my life,” she says simply.
Learning to own the studio
What Sascha found at Collarts wasn’t just technical training. It was a shift in how she thinks about music entirely. She now produces her own tracks, creates live-specific versions of songs, and has begun incorporating hardware into her shows.
“It’s no longer just about my stage presence and the quality of my vocals. It’s also about redesigning songs for live performance and being more interactive with the music while on stage.”
Before Collarts, she’d only share work-in-progress music with her brother. Now she actively seeks feedback from classmates and teachers on everything she makes. The friendships she’s built along the way have become just as important as the skills.
“Every piece of music we make we share with each other and give each other feedback and encouragement. I hope in 50 years we’re all still sending cool beats into the group chat.”
Over the past year, Sascha has been part of Mushroom Group’s First Nations Pathway Program, with rapper, producer and advocate Nooky as her mentor. In November 2025, Mushroom took the cohort to Sydney, where two days in the studio with artist and producer JOY produced her most recent song, Sleepwalking.
“I learnt heaps from working with JOY and I loved watching her produce and hearing about her time in the industry.” With every release, she’s carving out an aesthetic that’s becoming unmistakably hers.
For mob, with pride
When Sascha talks about The Long Walk, the language shifts. This isn’t just a gig.
“After the recent rise in acts of racism against Indigenous people, like what we saw on Anzac Day, events like The Long Walk that unite and celebrate First Nations people are more important than ever.”
Her Jalbi recently asked her to write more songs about Yawuru culture and history. For Sascha, that request is the highest honour. Music has always been about storytelling, but it’s becoming something more specific: a way to carry her family’s stories forward and honour her old people.
“Performing at an event like The Long Walk is crucial for me as an artist, to have my music serve a higher purpose than entertainment alone.”
The Long Walk takes place Friday 22 May 2026, Birrarung Marr, Naarm (Melbourne), ahead of AFL Dreamtime at the G.
For more information, head here.
* Jalbi: Yawuru word for great grandmother.
This article was made in partnership with Collarts.
