Kasey Chambers.
Camera IconKasey Chambers. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Kasey Chambers heartache in Dragonfly

Sara FitzpatrickEastern Reporter

SHE still has moments when she feels “not pretty enough” but for the most part Kasey Chambers has learned to let the bad stuff go.

The loveable girl of country-roots – who was catching up on washing when we spoke – has been through divorce, vocal surgery and a rickety road to self-discovery and has come out of it all a stronger woman.

With a new number one album under her belt – her fifth number one record – the Aussie darling is in a good place.

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“I really didn’t think I’d be a 40-year-old woman in the music industry bringing out a double album and it going to number one,” Chambers said.

“Five number ones are a really nice thing to list on your bio but for me each album is so different and they all belong to a whole lot of different heartache that went into that record – or the opposite, there’s a whole lot of joy that goes into it.

“I guess it’s a little bit like with kids: If one kid does well at school it doesn’t take the shine off the next kid getting something.”

Chambers admits there is definitely more heartache than joy in Dragonfly but she remains a happy person.

“I’m very positive and upbeat and it fills up my soul to be around a lot of people and fun and happiness and I try and create that as much as I can in my life but those aren’t the times I want to write songs,” she said.

“I’ve been through divorce and that was hard, but discovering myself as a single parent after divorce was the hardest part.”

New track, Ain’t No Little Girl, written two-and-a half years ago, after her divorce and before surgery, sums up Chambers’ transformation.

“I feel like that song has literally changed my life and helped me to become the person that I am,” she said.

“When I wrote it, I never sang it, never played it, never even thought it would make an album and then after surgery – and after I started to discover who I was on my own – I just started growing into it.

“Now I feel it’s the most important song I’ve ever written, for me personally, and it’s the most powerful song I play every night.”

THE ESSENTIALS

What: Kasey Chambers Dragonfly Tour

When: April 29

Where: Astor Theatre

Tickets: www.astortheatreperth.com

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