Tongala's Eats and Beats event on Sunday featured performances by Jessica Lorraine, Toby Brooks, Grim Fawkner and Amy Caldwell.
A Tongala teenager gave much more experienced musicians a kick start when she performed for a second time at her home town’s major musical and culinary celebration, Tongala Development Group’s Eats and Beats event.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Sixteen-year-old Amy Caldwell, now a year 10 student at Echuca College, appeared on stage at the festival two years ago and was back again with her mother, brother and sister in the crowd on the Mangan St lawns of the town where she spent her primary school years.
Since performing in 2022 she has worked closely with popular, and well known, Echuca musician Drew Walker - of The Voice 2021 fame.
On Sunday at the Tongala soundshell she was the warm-up act for two more seasoned musicians, Grim Fawkner (widely known as the Rambling Man) for his busking exploits throughout Australia and New Zealand, along with his tours of both Europe and the United Kingdom.
Kristan and Heidi Caldwell, the mother and sister of performer Amy, capture her half hour performance on camera from the Mangan St lawns on Sunday.
Fawkner was voted as Melbourne’s Best Busker and followed the Tongala teenager onto the stage before another Goulburn Valley musician in Jessica Lorraine rounded out the performance.
With mother Kristan, an educator at Tongala’s Shine Bright Kindergarten, brother Lachie and sister Heidi in the crowd (her father Brad was away for the weekend), she performed to many familiar faces.
Two years ago she sang sets in between main acts and last year even performed a cameo alongside her current music teacher - Walker.
And she will be back, having been invited on Sunday after her set to perform at the Tongala Carols by Candlelight event.
“She started with Dillmac when she was four,” her mother explained.
Her eclectic set included Kasey Chambers’ Not Pretty Enough, a Coldplay hit, Dolly Parton’s Joelene and music from both Billie Eilish and the Googoo Dolls.
She explained that she is yet to write a song of her own, but that was something that she hoped to achieve "one day“.
Former Tongala Primary School student Amy Caldwell appeared at the Eats and Beats as a 14-year-old two years ago and was back on stage again for the 2024 event.
