My artistic practise began playing music at the dinner table with my family, then studying (Cert & HBMus), teaching and performing as a singer, songwriter, performer and session musician.

My work life always had the gracious anchor of my family business, working together to design and manufacture light aircraft in the NSW Northern Rivers. I built skills in promotion, web design, photography, video/print media, and sales – for music and aircraft. It sounds strange, but you can’t argue hanging out of a helicopter filming your Dad flying at close range.

I’ve created acoustic, live soul band and synthesised albums over 20 years and this album takes an innovative next step in my own music creation practise, through local-history story-telling with my diverse community of musicians and pilots.

This Project creates a new 8-12 episode podcast and a standalone album.

As a narrative, it weaves interviews, memories, sound scapes & original songs around a heart of interviews with Aussie Bush Pilots who fly the aircraft my dad, Howard Hughes, designed & manufactured for 30 years.

I want to connect, enhance & reveal the aviation community he forged, tell of why pilots are drawn to the sky, and seek the stories of the light aircraft that are like siblings to me. Both of my parents passed away in recent years, and I’m compelled to capture & preserve their talent’s legacy in Australian Aviation through my art.

The project will draw in the diverse artists that shape my region’s musical network landscape. Specifically my band of professional musicians & engineers, the Northern Rivers Conservatoire where I developed my musicianship and artistic expression; and the multi-cultured female (Hawaiian, New Zealander and South American) vocalists I have come to study with and adore in my choirs and vocal workshops.

The most rewarding gigs to play are in small halls full of listening community; Babes in arms, children inspired, singing along in harmony if you give half a chance. So with particular attention to country flight schools and test pilots, female pilots, and the kids who learnt to fly in the High School courses my father forged, I will document this incredible man’s chapter of local Australian history, and offer music as a soundtrack to the diverse community that supported us.

This project captures a great Australian story through a strong album of music – employing skills from a cross section of high calibre regional musicians, engineers, choirs and supporters.

The full project concept was to tour regional areas of Australia, interviewing in person, and recording shows and workshops in local community halls. While Covid-19 limits travel, I will build relationship connections through interviews first, and meet in person in a series of small tours, when it’s safer.

I hope to inspire my peers; particularly my extremely talented, female peers and students. I have created three full lengths albums and two podcasts in the past- with teams from solo to dozens of talented collaborators. I know, however, this project will build my creative development, crafting for a wide range of listeners. This story is so unique. It will be my complete honour to create it for my dad. He was such an innovative, musical, creative, eccentric, Aussie bloke of a father.

Letters of Support

Letters of Support – Single Document