FOR ARIA-charting alt-country and folk singer-songwriter Charlotte Le Lievre, music has never been about simply writing a catchy tune.
It is more about confronting life’s hardest moments, celebrating its unexpected joys and finding connection through the stories that make us human.
Now, the acclaimed Australian artist is bringing that deeply personal approach to Ipswich, with an intimate headline performance at Studio 188 on November 6 as part of MELT Festival 2026.
With her second album, Grief Knows No Borders, due for release in early 2027, Le Lievre is preparing to share some of her most vulnerable songwriting yet, shaped by the devastating loss of her mother and several close friends.
“After my mum passed away in 2019 after a long battle with cancer, songwriting became a more personal and cathartic process,” Le Lievre said.
“It became an important vehicle for me to process the grief of losing my mum and to honour the stories of our family and the emotional journeys I went through.”
For Le Lievre, the heartbreak of losing someone she loved fundamentally changed both her life and her music.
“I think this is the most devastating thing about this record. I wish so badly that my Mum could hear the music I’m making now, but the sad truth is that these songs wouldn’t exist if she was still alive,” she said.
“I had to go through these experiences of loss to become the person and the songwriter that I am today.”
During her early twenties, Le Lievre spent time hitchhiking across remote Australia, sleeping in a swag, living at protest blockades and sharing songs around campfires.
“My life at the time was very reminiscent of the old country and folk troubadours,” she said.
“My time on the road in my early 20s helped me to develop these qualities as a songwriter.”
Her forthcoming record promises a broad musical landscape, incorporating electric guitars, classic country waltzes, honky-tonk influences, bluegrass and indie folk.
“My songwriting is very heart on the sleeve. It’s a straight up reflection of what I’m thinking, feeling or experiencing,” she said.
“It doesn’t dance around the edges of hard topics; it digs straight in with curiosity and vulnerability.”
Despite the emotional weight of her songwriting, Le Lievre is equally determined to celebrate the joy that can exist alongside sorrow.
“Grief is a reflection of how deeply we have loved. Feeling joy does not betray the person we have lost,” she said.
