The rise of Amber Rose

BURRINGBAR musician Amber Rose is bringing a special set of new music to the Great Northern when she opens for Thelma Plum on June 14.

Recovering from a painful herniated disc, the singer said she was working on staying motivated and was inspired by the upcoming show.

“It’s an injury from repetitive labour at work,” she said.

“But I’ve always been such a busy bee; I’m still coming to terms with not being able to be as active or do the things I need to do.”

A Triple J search selected a handful of artists to support Plum on key regional dates of her current national tour.

Rose was unaware of the competition to support the Byron Bay show, for which she was ultimately selected from current artists in the area.

“I put all my releases on my Triple J Unearthed page, and it’s helped me get a little recognition over time,” she said.

“I’d been struggling a bit with depression and stuff with this injury and feeling quite low.

“And then I received an email from Triple J, and was just ecstatic, crying, screaming, laughing – just overwhelmed. I just couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve been releasing music for a long time; there’s always highs and lows, and I’ve been feeling physically beaten down and a bit low.

“My last song took me 10 minutes to write, and that’s the one that got their attention in this for this comp, I think because it was completely open and raw.”

The South Australian native grew up in a vibrantly creative family in Port Lincoln.

Her Greek/Australian father was a keen musician, and she discovered the music that hypnotised her at an early age.

“There are a lot of musos in my family, and my dad always played guitar – he’s a very good rhythm and blues guitarist and was always writing songs, and I was always around him, playing along.

“When I was about five or six, I found this VHS tape called The Story of Karen Carpenter.

“I watched it every day for years and years and learned every song by heart, word for word.

“It was definitely the catalyst for discovering my love for singing.”

Following her heart into the local music scene, she left the port town for NSW’s Northern Rivers in 2014 and settled in Burringbar where she now lives and regularly performs with musician partner Jack Reeves.

With determination and inspiration, Rose is now focused on rest, healing, and rehearsing with her band for the highly anticipated concert at Byron’s Great Northern this weekend.

For tickets, visit moshtix.com.au/v2/event/venue-changed-thelma-plum-im-sorry-where-is-that-regional-tour/179217