Toni Childs hopes to connect Australians through music in these times of climate crisis
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11.03.2020

Toni Childs hopes to connect Australians through music in these times of climate crisis

Words by Fergus Neal

Emmy-winning and multi-GRAMMY-nominated artist Toni Childs will bring her evanescent and evocative sound to Australian audiences as part of her retrospective tour.

Discovering she had a gift for singing at a young age, it was her seminal singing experiences in school choirs that inspired her work on iconic albums such as Union and House of Hope.

“What I remember about singing was feeling emotions a million times greater than myself,” says Childs. “Music allowed me to pull myself away from everybody else. I would go and sing a little song and soothe myself. Singing has been a way to process what feels good but also what feels overwhelming.

“I’m a storyteller. I wrote a musical at 14, which I sang on a reel-to-reel tape that my stepfather had. But I was unrelatable to my family, which was just how it was. I kind of think of it like this wild weed that was going to come up through the cracks no matter what.

“I remember being in elementary school and our principal was also our choir leader. He picked two girls out of the class to sing a duet. I was chosen next to a friend of mine. She looked at me and said, ‘Please don’t show me up with that big voice of yours’. That’s when I realised I had something different to most people.”

Childs thinks more should be done to invest in regional Victoria. After an incredibly well-received 55-date national tour in 2019, Childs will be touring throughout regional NSW and Victoria in the hope of exploring areas that were not included on her 2019 tour.

“I’m purposefully feeling that we need to invest in the regional areas of countries. We’ve got a huge divide but we have the same values so we’re just needing to love each other. I’m making the best music of my life and I want to bring that to people in rural areas.

“We’re in a world that is creating a lot to be afraid of. I’ve devised a show to tour regional areas that will allow us to play and sing with each other. My defiance is wanting to bring beauty; expressions and demonstrations of beauty.”

Childs, now a resident of Byron Bay, has always felt a deep connection with Australia. She hopes this tour will be about connecting and uniting after a difficult bushfire season for people in the areas she is performing at.

“Last year I became a permanent resident of Australia. We’ve got a thing, it’s a love affair almost. You guys have this thing, ‘Fair dinkum’. People are salt of the earth. That’s why I love touring in the regional areas, people are working hard. You can talk plainly and there’s no bullshit.

“There’s a lot of selling going on in the world and it’s a little too much selling and not enough connecting. People want to connect and I feel like people in Australia do connect with what I’m expressing.”

With a career spanning over 40 years, there is an eternal flavour to Childs’ music that makes it feel both universal and timeless. When asked why her music has etched itself into the hearts of so many different people around the world, Childs alludes to the depth inherent in her body of work.

“When I think of people who have stood the test of time, I feel so grateful that through my music I’ve been able to do that. You have to be willing to share everything to the bottom of it all. The music needs to go deep. I’ve always felt like, ‘I’ve got to get it out of me, there’s the feeling that I have to share this with people’.”

Toni Childs performs at the Yan Yean Theatre, South Morang on Friday March 27 and the Wyndham Cultural Centre, Werribee on Saturday March 28. Grab your tickets here.