After being discovered by fellow South Coast surf rock band The Terrys, Kiama’s Bronte Alva has been making serious moves. Embarking on a three-month long tour to celebrate the release of her new single ‘Taylor Swift,’ Bronte will go out with a bang when she takes to the stage at the Yours and Owls Festival in October in front of a home crowd.
Words Emma Smith
Images Vasili Papathanasopoulos, Joelle Parisotto and @billielikes
Since releasing her first single in 2022, Bronte has performed alongside incredible bands like WAAX, Towns and Dulcie. Her poppy drum lines, enchanting vocals and signature garage rock sound will have you on your feet in no time.
And it all began with a love for Missy Higgins. Bronte says her poignant ballads and catchy melodies ignited her spark for songwriting at a young age.
“I have always felt very deeply. Some call it dramatic…I just say I feel deeply. I’m pretty sensitive,” said Bronte.
Bronte took up classical piano lessons when she started school and had written her first ever song about a primary school crush by year one.
In her senior year of high school, Bronte recorded her first demo and uploaded it to Triple J Unearthed as part of their Unearthed High competition.
“Being my knight in shining armour, I knew Missy Higgins submitted her song ‘All For Believing’ in the same competition when she was in Year 11, so I thought oh my god, I need to submit mine,” said Bronte.
Her recording didn’t make it into the finals, but in an amazing twist of fate, it was discovered by fellow local band The Terrys. Bronte recorded her first single ‘Eve’s Lips (Make me want to cry)’ with the help of The Terrys’ producer Jack Nigro and joined them on their East Coast tour shortly after.
“It was a dream come true! I had been playing music and accompanying myself for most of my life, but to then be playing to a crowd of 800 people in a gig environment with a band behind me was so surreal. The Terrys were so supportive and it was such a privilege to be able to meet so many incredible artists while we were away.”
Since then, Bronte has gone on to release five more singles.
“I write poppy songs at the best of times. They’re still singer-songwriter-y. I love a good hook of course, and poppy drum lines with a real drive of Indie rock…I love that storytelling element you can get in there with that.”
While Bronte has performed at venues all over the country, she says there’s nothing quite like playing at home, specifically, Finding Fillmores.
“It’s an awesome live music venue that has a bar that’s run out the back of a combi. It’s got this beautiful outdoor space, it’s kind of tucked away. It’s my favourite place to go. I’m there most weekends. It’s one of the very few music venues that isn’t completely involved with gambling, binge drinking and toxic culture. It’s so important to support small live music venues like this.”
Aside from Missy Higgins, Bronte draws inspiration from Ruby Fields, Angie McMahon, and Brisbane punks WAAX.
“I had the privilege of playing with WAAX on their last tour before their hiatus and absolutely fell in love with their music. I had always appreciated punk, but I’d never been super into it. Then when I went on tour with them, I had this moment where I was like holy shit, these guys are phenomenal. When I took my song ‘I Hate Birthdays’ into the studio, I was using WAAX as a reference quite a lot.”
“There’s so many unreleased songs that are in my set list...so if you want to hear them, you should come along.”
Bronte also really looks up to Taylor Swift - so much so, that she recently released a song in honour of her.
“The way she shares her raw experiences and that vulnerability, has really saved me in a lot of moments. My song ‘Taylor Swift’ is about my experience being in a relationship with an older man when I was quite young, and that power imbalance. He ghosted me a week before my 18th birthday and I felt like a failure for not being up to his standards.”
“When Taylor released her 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well,’ it really struck a chord with me and my situation. Her vulnerability allowed me to move past the sense of failure I felt and accept that it’s not that black and white.”
Her ‘Taylor Swift’ Tour is underway and will culminate in playing at Yours and Owls to a home crowd in in October.
“I’m still pinching myself with that one. I used to go to the under 18 festivals every year. Then, I turned 18 during the middle of the pandemic, so haven’t even been to the proper Yours and Owls Festival. To think I’ll experience my first one on stage is insane.”
“There’s so many unreleased songs that are in my set list…so if you want to hear them, you should come along.”
To keep up with Bronte and her music, follow her on Instagram @brontealva