WHEN Lamonay Brown wrote her first song at the age of eight, she knew where she wanted to be in life – on a stage, singing professionally and entertaining people.
Now 21, Lamonay is well on her way to achieving that goal.
She smiles when she recalls that first tune.
“It was a song about a desert flower. I wrote it purely because my cousins wanted me to sing and entertain them,” she said.
Lamonay is still entertaining, and she stopped onlookers in their tracks recently when performing at Gomeroi Nations Markets at Jellicoe Park in Moree.
She was home to visit family and friends and perform at the markets alongside her uncle, Billy Pitt, and 16-year-old Kyla-Belle Roberts, another Moree singer who’s making people sit up and listen.
Lamonay is proudly Moree born-and-bred. She did most of her schooling in her home town, and completed high school at Grafton.
“I took a year off after finishing Year 12 to work full time, but I knew I wanted to continue my development in music, so I came to Sydney,” Lamonay said.
She attends Ultimo TAFE, where she’s studying a diploma of Performance in Music. Previously, she was at Eora TAFE in Sydney.
“It’s a great environment at Ultimo, and I’m really enjoying it,” Lamonay said
“I plan to finish my course in June or July this year, but I could extend and do my bachelors. I’m not quite sure if that’s what I want to do, just yet.”
Around the time Lamonay was writing and performing songs for her cousins in Moree, she started performing in local talent shows.
She was soon winning contests across the region. In 2014, when 10 years of age, she performed at the Tamworth Country Music Aboriginal Showcase.
This led to auditions in Newcastle for the musical Hairspray, and a role in the ensemble.
Lamonay was the only child performer from a country town in the stage production. A couple of years later she closed for the Brolga Festival with Make My Own Dreams Come True, a song she wrote.
And that’s exactly what Lamonay Brown has been doing these past few years – making her dreams come true.
“I’ve been writing songs and lyrics since I was really young and currently working on a project with Scott Saunders, one of my teachers at TAFE,” she said.
“Scott is a fantastic musician and an amazing person. He’s great to talk to, and collaborate with, and has so much knowledge about music that he is willing to share.
“Our collaboration is very much about sharing stories and finding the music for it,” Lamonay said.
The duo has so far recorded three songs.
“They are just demos at the moment,” Lamonay said.
“One of the songs we worked on together is called Mission Girl. It was one of the songs I sang at the Gomeroi Nations Markets and it’s about my Nan, Dorothy Craigie.
“Nan passed away recently, and I use the song as a way to help me with my grief from losing her,” she said.
Lamonay lists Nina Simone, Erykah Badu, Otis Redding, The Supremes, Chris Stapleton, Gurrumuul as well as attending church with Nan Craigie as musical influences guiding the way.
Watching praise-and-worship groups in church introduced Lamonay to a range of musical sounds and styles, including country, soul, gospel, musicals and pop music that continue to inspire her.
“This gives me a strong sense of independence and freedom of expression through singing, writing and performing,” she said.
Lamonay finds inspiration in the connection and communication people achieve through music.
“Music is a universal language that tells stories that can quite often be unforgettable,” she said.
While singing is her forte, Lamonay was encouraged by a teacher at Eora TAFE to pick up a guitar and strum a few tunes.
“I know the basics of bass and can play simple music, but I would love to learn more,” she said.
“My immediate plans for the next 12 months is to hopefully record the demos I’ve made in the studio and get them mastered for release – and to be able to perform them with a live band, that’s my hopes.
“I also hope to perform regularly around Sydney, and back home in Moree more often,” she smiled.
Words and Images: Bill Poulos
