Rebecca Barnard

REBECCA BARNARD comes from a rich musical family history. In the 1920’s her grandparents Jim and Kath Barnard ran The Kath Barnard Jazz Band. Their son Len (Rebecca’s father) joined the band in the 1940’s at the age of 12. In 1952 The Len Barnard Jazz Band recorded Australia's first microgroove Lp record and toured extensively both here and overseas until his death in 2005 .

Rebecca grew up listening to Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong spending a lot of time in the pubs of Melbourne and Sydney listening to her Dad's band and eventually getting up and singing with them at the age of 13. At the age of 14 she heard Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan and became obsessed . The cross pollination of musical styles is evident in her music... especially her vocal phrasing .

Rebecca spent many years in various bands refining her live performance and vocal skills. She was asked to be backing singer for Stephen Cummings as he was starting his solo career post The Sports . She went on to record and tour with Cummings for the next 10 years. This is where she met Shane O’Mara. ( They were married in 1989 and have a son Harry who is a drummer

Meanwhile Rebecca started seriously focusing on songwriting and Rebecca's Empire was born. They became one of Australia's best loved bands releasing 3 Eps and 2 Albums, touring extensively and appearing on Triple J’s Hottest 100 albums 3 years in a row. Rebecca appeared for 2 years, once a week on Triple J afternoon program with her segment Pot O Rock, a segment on cooking and recipies. This was incredibly popular and generated record sales and profile beyond expectation. The band disbanded in 2000 while the duties of being a mother took priority even though she still appeared regularly on other peoples recordings, specifically Paul Kelly, Billy Miller, Tim Rogers, Renee Geyer, Deb Conway, The Meanies,TISM, Kutcha Edwards, David Hosking, Warped, The Audreys, The Fauves, You Am I and many more.

She has worked with her local and other community projects for many years. She conducts songwriting workshops for people with mental illness and young adults with disabilities.

She appeared regularly on TV since the 90’s ( The Big Gig and The Vizzard show ) as a backing singer. She appeared regulary on the ABC’s TV show Spicks n Specks and SBS’s Rockwiz. She also appears on ABC 774 Radio Melbourne as a guest regularly with Jacinta Parsons on Afternoons .

In 2006 Rebecca released her first solo album FORTIFIED to critical acclaim. It was released on Rebecca’s own label Ladybird. FORTIFIED was promoted heavily with touring for 9 months, playing festival's and securing some great support spots . The album sold moderately well at retail but selling Cd’s at gigs proved to be very successful.

In 2009 she received a grant from Vic Art's and headed off to New York to record her album EVERLASTING with Jazz musician Barney McAll, an Australian and very close friend who lived and worked in NY for 15 years as Sia’s MD among many other great artists. The album (released in 2010) was well received and one of which she is very proud.

I n 2016 she collaborated with Michael den Elzen, to create the album MUSIC FOR LISTENING AND RELAXATION (released in 2017)
Sometimes sparse, sometimes lush this album is a homage to love, the wonder and beauty of nature and the connection we all share.

Along with Rock legend, Billy Miller (The Ferretts )Rebecca has conducted the Singalong Society . It started in 2009 at The Caravan Music Club and is still going strong.

Now in 2023 she has just released her 4th solo album THE NIGHT WE CALLED IT A DAY featuring jazz standards that have resonated with her throughout her life. It is a homage to the great songwriters from the 1930’s onwards and to her jazz heritage.

Rebecca teaches sing at Vic Uni in Footscray and runs a unit for Cert 1V class at Northern College of Arts and Technology one day a week.