Toward the Dawn

THE Heart Collectors will bid their hometown farewell this April, with their Leaping Off Garden Show marking their final local performance before embarking on a major international tour.

Their four-month Toward the Dawn tour across the United States will mark the band’s return to the continent after completing a nine-month Austin to Boston journey in early 2024.

“Touring America is pretty groovy,” cello and bass player Mobius Barnaby said.

“Last tour we did 45,000 kilometres in nine months and so we got to see every part of America from coast to coast and from north to south.”

“It’s been amazing to take our version of the folk music culture and represent Australia in America that way.”

The Heart Collectors’ upcoming tour is inspired in part by the Buddhist monks’ “Walk for Peace” across America.

Barnaby said the band is guided by a similar philosophy of compassion and connection.

“We pride ourselves on being a positive influence and presence in people’s lives,” he said.

“We don’t want to go out and just be a bunch of egos.”

“Everyone has a heart, everyone has a voice, and being human is also about love.”

“A lot of people are struggling out there and if we can remind them that happiness and joy and community is the way through, then our job is done.”

The band’s name reflects this ethos.

Originally called the Art Collective, the group adopted their current name after it was repeatedly mispronounced as ‘The Heart Collectors’ during stage introductions.

“Eventually we said, ‘you know what, that’s a cool name, it suits what we’re about,’ so we just adopted it,” Barnaby said.

Featuring Barnaby on cello and bass, Kymrie Henge on vocals and percussion, Tristan Dafoe on banjo and mandolin, and Reuben Loire on guitars, The Heart Collectors’ music has been described as epic folk, blending 1970s-inspired four-part harmonies with a Woodstock-era aesthetic and Celtic-infused melodies.

“The cello has a very lyrical sound, like a singer’s voice,” Barnaby said.

“It adds to the kind of sound that we like to create, lots of melody and lots of harmony.”

For Barnaby, The Heart Collectors represents the joy of authenticity.

“Performing music, you don’t have to go with the mainstream,” he said.

“You just follow your path and what you love, which is what we’re doing.”

The band’s hometown of Tyalgum has also served as a muse for much of their artistic direction.

Barnaby points to the Garden of Light, a 30-acre botanical property that includes a homeschool and an animal sanctuary, as one of their greatest sources of inspiration.

The Garden of Light is also where the band lives, writes and develops much of their music.

“A lot of our songs are written about our home at the garden, and the beauty of this part of the world, with the rainforest and the mountains,” he said.

Songs like The Garden, written by lead singer Kymrie Henge about her experiences growing up on the property, offer listeners a journey through the landscape that has shaped the band.

The Heart Collectors was born out of lifelong friendships, family connections and mutual support, initially coming together to provide Henge with a creative outlet during a challenging time.

Henge had been pursuing a career in ballet before an injury shifted her path towards music.

“She had to give the ballet up, but she was also a fine poet,” Barnaby said.

“I was between bands myself at the time, and Tristan and Reuben were family friends, so it just happened organically.”

“There was no real plan. It was about being there for Kymrie when she needed an outlet.”

Henge’s poetic lyrics have since become the foundation for many of the band’s songs, leaving a lasting impression on audiences.

“When she first showed me her poetry, I told her, ‘I think other people would benefit from listening to your words,'” Barnaby said.

“Sure enough, years later people are listening to those songs and coming up to us after shows and saying, ‘these lyrics changed my life.'”

Barnaby said connecting with audiences remains one of the most rewarding parts of being in The Heart Collectors.

“When you look out across an audience and you hear people singing your lyrics, it is such a buzz,” he said.

“That’s the joy of being able to do what we do.”

The Heart Collectors’ Leaping Off Garden Show will be held at the Garden of Light in Tyalgum on April 18 from 1pm to 4pm.