Originally from Wales, Stella Donnelly moved to Perth with her family where she started a high school band that performed Green Day covers. After high school, Donnelly studied contemporary and jazz music at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Her debut EP Thrush Metal was released via Healthy Tapes in 2017. It contained the powerful ballad Boys Will Be Boys, a modern cry against misogyny and sexual assault. In 2018, the EP was reissued in the States with Secretly Canadian.
One year later Stella's debut album Beware Of The Dogs to widespread critical acclaim and solidifying her place as one of Australia's most promising songwriters.
Spawning no less than five singles, Old Man, Lunch, Tricks, Die and Season's Greetings is replete in Donnelly's trademark ironic lyricism, introspection and political observations. Her deadpan delivery of lines about serious topics set her apart as a songwriter - the understated wry humour serves as a delivery mechanism for gut-punching reality.
As for a new body of work, nothing has been confirmed. The events of the coronavirus put a stop to her touring commitments. Rest assured though, this is an artist with a lot to say, so it can't be too long before news of Stella Donnelly on the stage or in the studio emerges.
Her captivating voice and the way she uses lyrics to subvert it renders her an utterly fascinating artist. For as long as she continues to supply her singular observations on this tragicomic world, Stella Donnelly will be an artist worth listening to.
