FOR the past couple of months, young local songwriter Arabella Starling has been delighting patrons at The Wood Oven, Nelson Bay, with her impressive musical skills.
Arabella is only 15 but has already achieved a great deal.
Just this January, she was crowned as one of the top five finalists in the Country Music Association of Australia’s (CMAA) Junior Songwriter of the Year with her song Fun and Games, inspired by the Hunger Games series.
Arabella told News Of The Area that her passion started when she was six. She began by taking singing lessons, and not long after she transitioned into performing musical theatre for her school, starring in Disney plays at St Philip’s Christian College.
At the age of 12, inspired by the likes of Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac, she took up songwriting, which quickly became her main focus.
It did not take long for success to come: just this year, she graduated from the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music.
Arabella said that the Port Stephens community had been a safe space for her to improve in her artistry.
“The community is such an inviting space,” she said.
“I feel like I have grown as a performer doing these sorts of gigs, especially because I get to show some of my own music here, and that’s a good platform to practice playing.”
After her performances at The Wood Oven and St Philip’s Christian College, Arabella’s next big gig will be at the Fly Point Carols this December.
Arabella is also already preparing to once again join the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January for the 2027 edition, with two weeks of performances on stage.
By Nico LOMBARDO
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