The Hunter River Times

Look out Muswellbrook – there are some local rockstars on the rise.

The team from Warrior Disability Services were treated to a special workshop with UP&UP recently thanks to Upper Hunter Community Services.

They got to write and record a hip-hop song, as well as record a film clip for it.

“I saw a grant that came up that was through the NSW Government Country Arts Support Program, applied for that to have UP&UP come and do hip-hop with the Warriors,” Bec Eveleigh, Community Capacity Builder from Upper Hunter Community Services told The Hunter River Times.

“I have been looking for something to do with the Warriors and thought this was a perfect opportunity.”

The grant focused on employing local artists and the Warriors were so excited to learn they would get to have this experience.

“It’s so much more than I thought it was going to be, I wasn’t really aware of UP&UP, only what Bec had emailed me through,” Sally Pereina owner of Warrior Disability Services said.

“The confidence it has given the guys, the fun and the belief in themselves, it’s just amazing.”

UP&UP did two initial sessions getting to know everyone, writing and making preliminary recordings of the song, then a fortnight later they came back to do another two sessions finalising the recording and shooting some video footage for the film clip.

“The guys have sat down with the team from UP&UP and Upper Hunter Community Services and they have expressed their feelings and put that into a song,” Sally said.

“We didn’t write it for them, it was their ideas and what they wanted to tell the community.”

Production has wrapped up and now UP&UP will put the finishing touches on everything in preparation for a viewing party that will hopefully be a community event sometime in the near future.