NEARLY 12 months ago, Moree was treated to an emerging young talent when singer Lamonay Brown performed at the Jellicoe Park Gomeroi Markets.

Lamonay, who grew up in Moree, arrived at the markets unassuming and unannounced, but left her audience speechless as her soulful voice resonated across Jellicoe Park.

She mesmerised market-goers with a song she wrote about her late grandmother, well-known Moree elder Dorothy Craigie, who lost her battle with cancer in early 2024.

Lamonay’s song, Mission Girl, will today be released on Spotify – nearly two years to the day since Dorothy passed away.

Getting Mission Girl to a recording studio has been a labour of love, 12 months in the making.

“The first time I sang Mission Girl in public was at a rehearsal with my family in Moree before the Gomeroi Markets last year. At the time, it broke my heart to sing it,” Lamonay said.

To get the song recorded and released, Lamonay juggled two part-time jobs while studying a diploma of Performance in Music at Ultimo TAFE.

But, she says, the hard work has been worth it, with Mission Girl officially available today from 1pm.

“I wrote Mission Girl in my flat a few weeks after my nan passed away,” Lamonay said.

“I was grieving and reminiscing. At the time, I was in a music collaboration with one of my TAFE teachers, Scott Saunders, and we were working on ideas and demos for publishing.

“I took the song to Scott and we worked on the chords and the vibe. He was very supportive, and I’m truly grateful for that.

“At first, it was just another song we were working on, but I knew I couldn’t give this song away – I wanted to record and release the song myself,” Lamonay said.

To make that happen, 22-year-old Lamonay cut back her TAFE studies and ramped up her presence in the workforce and in front of a microphone.

“I believe in the song, so I worked two jobs and did gigs around Sydney to help fund the recording,” Lamonay said.

“Going to TAFE, working two jobs and finding time to perform has been full on, but telling the story of my nan and sharing Mission Girl was important to me,” she said.

“My nan has had a massive influence on me,” Lamonay said.

“She’s one of the women in my life that has shown me to lead with grace but ‘still stand on business’.

“Nan was the person who introduced me to gospel music when I was little. My sister and I lived with nan and every Sunday we would go down to Pastor Miles’ church.

“I loved watching the performances because I loved watching how consumed by the music and the stories the musicians and the audience were,” she said.

Lamonay said gospel-style music, and songs with powerful stories, have influenced her own style.

“I love music with a great story in any genre or language – if it has a great story, I’ll listen to it,” she said.

Lamonay said the message behind Mission Girl is forever-evolving.

“Of all the songs I’ve written, Mission Girl just flowed out,” she smiled.

“At the time, I viewed the song as a way of expressing my deep longing for my nan and how much I missed her.

“The more I sing Mission Girl in public performances, more people come up to me and say how much they connect with the song and what it means to them,” Lamonay said.

“The meaning of the song to me has changed. I did a gig not too long ago at Eora TAFE for the art students’ establishment and an aunty came up and started yarning to me about her nan.

“It was really beautiful to hear because she would have been in her 70s . . . the pure, childlike joy she had was just beautiful.

“The meaning behind Mission Girl has changed for me. I still view it as a song about missing my nan but now I also view it as a celebration of her and all the beautiful black women that have come before her and that will come after her,” Lamonay said.

Getting Mission Girl from the manuscript stage to the recording studio has been a huge learning curve, Lamonay said.

“I planned everything, which was a great learning experience about management and timelines,” she said.

“I had to work around everyone’s availability and another thing I had to think about was how I was going to record, release and budget as an independent artist and what that looked like.”

To help develop her new path, Lamonay took part in a songwriting workshop at Koori Radio, Sydney’s only Indigenous community broadcaster.

Koori Radio is part of Gadigal Information Service, which is also home to Kameygal Recording Studio.

“It was such a supportive environment,” Lamonay said.

“I met a lot of wonderful people and musicians. And I knew this was the place where I was going to record.

“Through Scott (Saunders), I met a sound engineer, Lachlan Mitchell, who came to a performance I did in Redfern. He listened to some songs – originals and covers, including Mission Girl – and was really keen to be part of the recording process,” she said.

Lamonay’s next step was finding and securing session musicians.

“Some of the players I found through meeting them at TAFE – people like Phil Bragg on acoustic and slide guitar, James McAuley on drums, and Mark Chester Harding on bass,” she said.

“I met Raph Hatz, the didgeridoo player, through a cousin of mine. They had done some gigs together around Sydney.

“They were all super-keen to be part of the recording and are all amazing people and musicians.

“I booked the recording date at Kameygal studio in Redfern, and we did some rehearsals leading up

to it, so everyone would feel comfortable and confident in giving their best performance.

“Creating a safe and supportive environment for everyone involved was really important to me as Mission Girl is so close to my heart,” Lamonay said.

Mission Girl will be available online today, January 13, from 1pm.

“It will be uploaded to Spotify and other streaming services, and I’m currently planning gigs for February around Sydney and more gigs closer to home, too, to coincide with the launch,” Lamonay said.

“I also have plans to go back into the studio and record two more songs in February, which I’m really looking forward to.”

Words: Bill Poulos