Nathan Lamont hopes to release an album and go on tour. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga country musician Nathan Lamont has been recognised as an Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship finalist, and is in the running for a $10,000 scholarship on top of mentoring from First Nations artist and Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan.
As a proud Wiradjuri man and loving husband, storytelling has been the heart of his music. He met his biggest supporter in high school almost two decades ago and continues to be inspired by her.
“Gemma has been [my biggest support] for the last 16 years of my life,” Mr Lamont said.
“[We] were high school sweethearts [and] met in the school musical, and after that, you know we fell in love.
“We’ve been through thick and thin together and been married for 10 years now.
“She’s always believed in what I have to offer. I truly would be lost without her.
“That’s kind of why, you know, when you spend that much time with someone, it’s hard not to write about it, and it’s hard not to kind of have a lot to say about it.”
Mr Lamont said music had provided more than a platform for his creativity; it was “therapeutic”.
“It’s about just being vulnerable for me and being able to in a therapeutic way, you know, kind of process my own internal struggles,” he said.
“I’ve written other songs that I haven’t released about, you know, other personal tragedies in my family where I’ve lost my niece.
“I’ve written a song about that to help me cope and to heal, but also to help my family and those that perhaps have experienced a child death before.”
Growing up, Mr Lamont’s biggest challenge was a lack of opportunity.
“So I grew up in a pretty tough kind of suburb in Wagga,” he said. “We’re all Blackfellas living in the same suburb, and there was just a lot of disadvantage and a lot of struggle.
“And it’s hard to build a dream when you’re dealing with day-to-day, you know, getting by.
“I know that that was the case for me, and I’m sure that would probably also resonate for a lot of my other brothers and sisters.”
The scholarship is open to First Nations storytelling artists and Mr Lamont encouraged anyone interested to apply.
“Whether it’s creative passion or whether it’s just something that they love doing, you know, just to lean into it,” he said.
“I like to spend time preparing my music with community and two because music is [a] language [that] speaks all languages.
“I get little kids coming up to me at shows, and you see the sparkle in their eyes.
“[I] don’t want them to lose that, because life has a way of kind of beating that sparkle out of you if you’re not doing what you love.”
Mr Lamont’s song What Comes After comes out next Friday and he hopes to release an album and tour NSW and Queensland.
“If I was to be lucky enough to be chosen as the recipient of the $10,000, it would help fund the album, and also then I could tour off the back of the album,” he said.
He will also be in Nashville for three weeks in September to write his album and learn from industry experts at Americanafest.
Keep up to date with Nathan Lamont on his Instagram.
