Grey skies threaten ominously, but that won't stop a packed A Day On The Green crowd from whipping on their gumboots and heading to Centennial Vineyards in Bowral (30 November) for the 20th anniversary of Missy Higgins' beloved album 'The Sound Of White'.
The rain pelts down, but it can't dent the vibes as Ruby Fields takes to the stage. "This is a song about a boy. Just imagine sick drums and sh.t," she plays on her set being more intimate, with her accompaniment being another guitarist."This is a song about disappointing my mum. . . and my dad," she continues the laughs for 'Redneck Lullaby', a song that feels all too relevant. "I'm a little bit shaky," Fields' accomplice remarks, bringing out an egg shaker. "I'll be honest, I'm afraid," Fields sings tenderly, and you can't help but love her.
She introduces new song 'Tackle Box', her fingers floating deftly over the strings, before strumming viciously as she declares "I don't know why". "It was a little hard not to cry as I did that one," Fields shares. "So stoked I made it.
"It's amazing to share a stage with two powerful Aussie artists. I'm feeling pretty up myself today," she jokes. "Imagine if I played 'Scar'," she says, moving to the keys as the crowd laugh. Fields translates as an emotional girl just trying to do better, and you believe she'll get there.
Ruby Fields - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
Next up, Kate Miller-Heidke's entrance shocks the crowd as 'Back In Black' blasts from the speakers. She smiles before starting with slow number, 'The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child'.
Kate's black dress shimmers in the lights, as second track 'Sarah' features some vocal acrobatics atop a pumping rhythm on the acoustic guitar. She rattles a tambourine, before the song ends in a crescendo of strumming, Miller-Heidke casting her tambourine to the ground.
"Thanks for being troopers, you look amazing," Miller-Heidke remarks to the crowd. "You look like multi-coloured condom heads, it's great.
Kate Miller-Heidke - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
"This song is about dancing on the grave of an asshole," she shares, before enquiring to the signer, "what's asshole in Auslan?" The signer gestures, much to the crowd's delight. "You can't hurt me anymore," Miller-Heidke sings heartfeltly, and you believe her.
'Can't Shake It' features the guitarist kicking his feet high, much to Miller-Heidke's bemusement. "That song is 15 years old, but it was recently made popular on TikTok due to the line, 'can't break dance, I just break it'," she smiles about the Olympic controversy.
Miller-Heidke invites young fan Lucy Quinn onstage to sing 'Caught In The Crowd' in a sweet moment.
"When I took singing lessons in New York, this woman told me, 'when you're singing a high note, your wide mouth should be a reflection of your wide vagina'," Miller-Heidke shares hysterically. "When I got my new singing teacher in Tassie, I confessed I hadn't got the whole wide mouth wide vagina thing – and she said, 'what the hell is she on about? Your vagina's gotta be tight. Tight!'"
Kate Miller-Heidke - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
Miller-Heidke's Christmas song about growing beards in low places proves popular with the crowd, before 'Zero Gravity' features the stunning operatic vocals she is known for. The set ends with more impressive, dramatic vocals, Miller-Heidke smiling out at the crowd.
Now it's time for the first of two sets from the woman of the last two decades. "This is exciting," Higgins announces, as she enters the stage in flowing, gold pantsuit. "It feels like Glastonbury. I hope to see some mud wrestling later!" "Only if it's you," one punter replies.
Missy starts with one of her oldest songs, 'Greed For Your Love', joking about her guitar abilities. Her voice cries as thick smoke filters through the red lights surrounding her. It's magical already.
"I wrote this song about navigating the Australian music landscape, and tall poppy syndrome," she shares for 'Sugarcane'. "To all the little girls out there, don't let anyone tell you you're too big or taking up too much space." The rendition is perfectly heart-shaking.
"I wrote this about the biggest reckoning I've ever had," Higgins introduces 'When 4 Became 3', referencing her divorce. "Playing these songs has been very therapeutic, and I've felt like I've grown; and I realised I have a lot more work to do on myself."
Missy Higgins - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
Blue and purple lights flood the stage as Higgins begins dramatically, before announcing, "oh f..., my mic is too high. I can't see the keys. That was anticlimactic, wasn't it?" Even her mistakes are endearing. The song features a stunning choir from the four backing singers, as Higgins' tassels hang down like wings.
'I Take It Back' is a magnetic anthem of personal power under pink lights, before Missy states: "The rain's holding off. It's a miracle," she sings. "Wasn't that an ad when we were kids?
"My six year old started asking questions about why dad had to live in another house, and I was driving the car as these questions were breaking my heart. So I wrote her this song to explain things a bit better." 'A Complicated Truth' is tastefully stunning, as the French horn joins a perfect reminder that life is messy and that's ok.
Higgins plays a cover of Troye Sivan's 'One Of Your Girls', before 'Craters' – a song about visible grief which plays with misleading joy under the orange lights. "I had a strong story that I had written for myself, and letting go of that story was the hardest thing," Higgins shares.
"I've finally let go and worked through a lot with these songs. This next chapter is going to be full of flipping everything I knew inside out. You wouldn't know it listening to my new album, but things turn out alright," she smiles for 'The Second Act'. The song is strong yet sensitive, as red and purple lights overhang Higgins. The wind gently blows her hair across her chest, as she declares boldly: "I'm ready for the second act."
Missy Higgins - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
Missy is so immensely personal, yet her stories feel like your own. It's as if it's just her and you alone in a room. After dealing spectacularly with a heckler, Higgins begins the second act announcing "I wrote this when I was 15 about my first love". White lights shoot out, as stars fall on the screen behind Higgins in 'All For Believing'. The cello joins with the dark intensity that the piece conveys.
"In high school, seeing girls my age get lost in body issues and experimenting with identities. I saw you lose yourself and find yourself. I wrote this song about an amalgamation of all of them," Higgins recounts for 'Katie', as written words appear on the screen. The band kick in perfectly smooth and powerful.
"I have a river theme. Rivers are constant, but they're always changing," Higgins reflects, before 'The River'. A beautiful watercolour painting of a river flows behind as Missy strums and sings gently, as the song fades beautifully.
"I had a friend in high school going through a really tough time. She couldn't get her head around the idea that this wouldn't last forever. So I wrote this to remind her there was a light at the end of the tunnel," Higgins shares for 'Nightminds', a digital drawing of telegraph lines before a starry sky flanking the screen behind. Higgins' voice reaches into your soul with irresistible intensity.
Missy Higgins - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
She dons a black acoustic guitar, remarking "my job is so strange. All my albums are diaries of that point of my life. This is my teenage diary. Imagine reading your teenage diary every night for strangers," she laughs. "This is my first love song, and it was about this asshole that took ten years of therapy to get over."
'Ten Days' is a brilliant piece of songwriting, the crowd singing along as Higgins dances in her cowgirl boots and white tasseled jacket. The band bop around in the bridge in a cute moment. The song drops completely, as a single light shines on Higgins. She sings an elongated note that starts the crowd screaming.
"Man it's really pouring now," she announces. "You guys are in it!" 'Casualty' is moody and sultry, Higgins spreading her arms, before clasping them to her chest, begging "tell me a lie". The double bass pumps as a trumpet solo plays, before 'Any Day Now' and 'They Weren't There'.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am you guys came out in the drizzle," Higgins emotes. "It's special that these songs are triggering different thoughts in all your minds at the same time," she remarks on the power of live music.
Missy Higgins - image © Tim Bradshaw Photography
The lights fade gently, as Higgins recounts: "This is also about a lover. I remember thinking if we could escape to a town where we knew the butcher and the milkman, we'd be ok. We're not the problem the world is," she laughs at her delusion. "Young love," she sighs for 'Don't Ever', flowers blooming on the screen behind.
Higgins shares how she's sung the wrong words for her entire career in 'The Special Two', in a hilariously relatable moment. The song is simply so special, as patrons sing and sway together. It must be wonderful to have crafted something that changed the fabric of Australian culture so strongly.
'The Sound Of White', written for Higgins' cousin who passed from cancer at a young age, is powerful and tender, white lights pulsing across the air. "I have one more song," Higgins smiles for 'Scar', as a dance party erupts, joy in the form of wide grins appearing on every face.
"I have a bonus track!" Higgins says for 'Steer', which leaves joy in every part of your body, as Higgins ends on a gritty note full of passion. The band join together for a well deserved bow, and the best night of your life has sadly ended.
Higgins is simply remarkable as a songwriter and performer, and her show feels like a night with a close friend. Everything she plays leaves you changed in some way, and it's a special thing we get to call her our own.
