'We want to become rock stars': The Little Riverina Band’s new album pays tribute to hometown

Don’t be fooled by the name or the size of this Riverina-based band — The Little Riverina Band is making waves in the music scene with the release of its second album and an anthem for a local concert.

The region’s up-and-coming musical sensation, the band is a trio of siblings: Esther, 14 (vocals and bass), Benjamin, 12 (vocals and piano), and Daniel, 11 (lead vocals and guitar).

“We want to become rock stars,” Esther told Region.

The dynamic trio released their second album, “Riverina Breathing”, last month. Written by Daniel, the title track is a heartfelt tribute to their home.

Esther said writing the tribute song was important to all three siblings, and it remained their favourite track on the album.

“We wanted people to know that we care about our hometown and the Riverina a lot,” she said.

As part of their second album, the siblings also wrote and produced an anthem for Temora’s Bectric Rocks concert titled Bectric Rocks.

“A year ago, the Bectric Rocks festival asked us to play there, and we decided to write an anthem for them,” Ben said.

“It took us a few months to write it. Our first attempt sounded more like a musical, but we wanted a true rock song. Daniel had a go at it; the second time, he got it just right. It sounded like a song that fits the festival, which supports mental health awareness.”

After growing tired of performing covers, the Little Riverina Band was inspired to write original songs. Over the past year, they have learned a lot on their musical journey.

“We decided to do originals — you can earn money and go further,” Ben said. “On my journey, I learned that I’m not a rock songwriter; I can write songs that work well for musical theatre.

“In this second album, I learned I could actually do ballads,” Daniel added.

“I realised I could write bass lines for the boys to work with, then add more interesting beats into the songs,” Esther said.

Writing and recording the songs for their albums has come with challenges.

“It’s hard to record the songs because you have to get them right. It takes us a couple of days to record them ourselves, but if we go to a professional, it takes about five hours,” Esther said.

Based in Cootamundra, The Little Riverina Band was formed in 2019 and quickly became well-known in the community for performing classic covers at local festivals.

However, their musical career was temporarily put on hold due to the pandemic.

The band’s first album, “From The Attic To The Sea”, was released in April 2024 and consists of seven tracks.

The siblings wrote and produced eight tracks for their second album, including Riverina Breathing, Missing Home Again, Bectric Rocks, Change, Cootamundra Wattle, Man of Iron, My Wattle Home, and Double Digit Birthdays.

They are already working on their third album, hoping to release it by September or October.

To keep up with the band and their local performances, follow them on Facebook at The Little Riverina Band.

You can listen to the Little Riverina Band on Spotify and SoundCloud.