Kerrianne Cox
"I want to touch people with my songs, not just as an Aboriginal person, but as a human being."
Kerrianne Cox is an internationally renowned independent Aboriginal performing artist. Her signature song Beagle Bay Dreaming has brought her beloved home and country - Beagle Bay in the remote North West Kimberley region of Western Australia - into the hearts and minds of people all over the world.
"I'm deeply passionate about my music and the love that is created into form by music. For me, music is about healing and building bridges."
After winning the Next Big Thing Competition in 1996 when she was just 22 years of age, Kerrianne Cox said "I am here to inspire people in all I do".
In 1997 Kerrianne Cox was awarded a WAMi (Western Australia Music Industry) Award as Best Indigenous Artist of the Year and in 2000, NAIDOC's (National Aboriginal Independence Day of Celebration) Female Artist of the Year. In 2001 she received the Deadly Vibe Female Artist of the Year given by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Awards (NAIDOC). In 2003 Kerrianne was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for service to her country. Also in 2003, Kerrianne was awarded the ALMA (Australian Live Music Awards) Songlines Indigenous Award, and was again nominated for Deadly Vibe Female Artist of the Year.
In Australia, Kerrianne Cox has performed all over the country including at major events such as 2002 Message Stick at the Sorry Day concert at the Sydney Opera House, WOMADelaide 2003, season 4 of Outback Upfront on ABC TV (Sydney), the Broome Cabaret production of the acclaimed musical Bran Nue Dae, the Sydney Survival Concert '97, opening Perth Artrage in '98, Corroborree 2000, Sydney Mardi Gras 2002 and featured artist at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge attended by over 100,000 people, as well as the Western Australia International Music Conference in 2003.
From 2000 to 2003, Kerrianne toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada, performing in prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Lincoln Center in NY as well as touring in Vancouver, Portland, St. Louis and Seattle, and appearing at the Detroit Festival and the NEMO Conference in Boston.
In 2003 and 2004, Kerrianne toured in South Africa where she performed at the Awesome Africa Festival in Durban (2003) and was hosted by the Australian High Commission in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria (2004). She is the subject of a documentary, Trancing in Dreamtime (Fineline Productions) with the San Bushmen from the Kalahari in Botswana, that was released to great acclaim at the Durban International Film Festival in June, 2004.
Although she regularly conducts songwriting workshops which heal, inspire and uplift diverse audiences such as participants at the Kungka Conferences held at Uluru, Kerrianne Cox is more than a singer/songwriter. She is a catalyst for change and a leader.
In October 2004, Kerrianne Cox was elected Chairperson of Beagle Bay Community by her people. "Now I find myself in a beautiful place where I am the Chairperson of my community and I can travel from time to time to perform select shows that I feel are important for what I stand for."
In 2005 Kerrianne was named National Artist of the Year (NAIDOC) and awarded the Yvonne Cohen Award for Creative Indigenous Youth.
Kerrianne's CD's include Just Wanna Move (1999) and Opening (2001). In 2005 she began recording her third CD - 'Return to Country' - about what it means to live and work from her home in the Kimberley. The CD was released at the International Dreaming Festival in June 2006.