Charlotte Varcoe
POPULAR musician Kasey Chambers is looking forward to getting back to her roots next month while raising funds for a Mount Gambier/Berrin family.
Ms Chambers will be performing at The Globe Hotel on September 9 to raise money for former Mount Gambier/Berrin resident Zac Watson.
Mr Watson became paralysed after what he described as a “freak accident” on a motorbike earlier this year.
Mr Watson was in Alice Springs, training for the Finke Desert Race, when he had a serious motorbike accident where he was “spat off” his bike.
The accident resulted in Mr Watson severing a vertebrae and shattering another, causing bone fragments to enter his spinal cord resulting in being paralysed from the sternum down.
Mr Watson was lying on the motorbike track for half an hour before he was found.
Speaking with The Border Watch, Ms Chambers said she was made aware of Mr Watson’s situation after being in discussions with his father, Dylan, who she was friends with.
Despite the circumstances for her trip back home, Ms Chambers said she loved coming back to the South East as much as she could after missing out on a lot of visits during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Most of my family still live down and around the South East and I was born in Mount Gambier so I think of that area as my hometown,” Ms Chambers said.
“I spent half of my childhood living around that area and the other half in the outback and whenever I am feeling homesick I will come back to the outback and have campfires and go to Southend and go fishing.”
She said the timing of the fundraiser worked really well by allowing her to spend time in the region and catch up with family and friends.
“I am also looking forward to having a show which unites everyone as well as raising money for Zac,” she said.
“I want the performance to be about us uniting in the room during the night and bringing a lot of love to everyone.”
She said although many of her songs were not the “happiest or light-hearted” she believed they reflected real life where “not everyday is happy and chirpy” and others are more difficult.
“I think a lot of people want to help in situations like this and most people have it naturally in their hearts to want to help each other,” Ms Chambers said.
“I believe in human kindness and I do believe if you put the opportunity in front of people most will have something in their hearts that gravitate towards it.
“Not everyone can donate to every single charity that has ever been put in front of them but I think there is enough of this to go around and those who want to make a difference let their hearts gravitate towards the thing that resonates with them.”
She said although this fundraiser may not be for everyone, she firmly believed those who attend on the night would be a “bunch of people that will resonate with it”.
“I truly believe that whoever we get in the room on that night are the people who we are meant to share that moment with,” Ms Chambers said.
“Whoever is meant to be a part of that night will be there and it will be meant for that and however much money we raise will be the amount we were meant to be raising for Zac.”
Tickets are available for purchase online.
