Wrap your good self around country-folk sweetheart KYARNA’s debut single Meet in Love
KYARNA, from the Yuin Nation on NSW’s far south coast, is a First Nations singer-songwriter quietly taking the country-folk scene by storm.
Her debut single, Meet in Love, is a bittersweet snapshot of a love that never quite lined up, recorded just weeks after a personal loss.
It’s tender, raw, and full of hope, the kind of song that lingers. Over the years, KYARNA‘s shared stages with legends like Paul Kelly, Troy Cassar-Daley, and the late Uncle Archie Roach, and later this year she’ll hit the road with Liz Stringer.
Her debut EP, Lost Soul Love Letters (Nov 2025), promises more of the same: stories drawn from life, grief, and joy, wrapped in country-folk melodies that feel lived-in, honest, and utterly hers.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
KYARNA: I’m working on a few bits and pieces for the EP – visualisers and lyric videos for the songs. It’s really fun putting it all together but it’s such a big job! I always get halfway through an idea and then something else will pop in, so I have a bunch of half-finished projects for the EP but it’s all good fun.
HAPPY: Tell us a little bit about where you live, what do you love about it?
KYARNA: I live on Dharawal-speaking Country. I grew up around here and spent most of my childhood travelling up and down the coast from La Perouse to Eden. I love being close to the mountains, the sea, and to family and friends. I don’t think there’s a place quite like it, in terms of proximity to everything – the city, the country, it’s all so close.
HAPPY: Can you take us back to when you first wrote Meet in Love?
KYARNA: I wrote Meet in Love a few years ago. It was sparked by a conversation with someone I loved very deeply. We always danced around being in a relationship but it was never the right time.
He wanted me to go and do something with my music. That night, I wrote the words “maybe one day when the silver in your beard matches the silver in my hair” into my notes app and wrote the song at 2am.
It was a song about hope and a future together. He passed away in April, so recording it became bittersweet, navigating grief while honouring the love in the song.
HAPPY: The song’s meaning has shifted so deeply since you first wrote it. How did it feel to return to it and record it after such a personal loss?
KYARNA: Recording it was terrifying and sombre but beautiful. A few weeks after he passed, I flew to Tassie to record, got sick, lost my voice the day before, but I pushed through. The song feels like a tribute to a love that should have been but never aligned. There’s hope in it for me, just not in this lifetime. It comforts me to know how much he loved my music.
HAPPY: Meet in Love captures both heartbreak and hope. How do you balance those two emotions in your songwriting?
KYARNA: Heartbreak and hope are intertwined – they’re two sides of the same coin. Even in the saddest moments, I hold hope for the future. In my songwriting, I don’t separate them because they belong together.
HAPPY: You’ve shared stages with legends like Paul Kelly, Troy Cassar-Daley, and Uncle Archie Roach. Any moments that stood out?
KYARNA: Sitting in the greenroom before a gig with Paul Kelly and Troy Cassar-Daley, playing and singing old country songs with Rachel Perkins was special and fun.
It showed me that there’s space on these stages for Indigenous artists and how representation matters.
HAPPY: You’ll be touring with Liz Stringer later this year. What excites you most?
KYARNA: I’m excited to spend time with Liz. She’s generous, powerful, and a true storyteller. This will be my first tour! I can’t wait to soak up everything about touring, hear her play, and connect with her audience.
HAPPY: How has growing up on Yuin Country shaped your music and storytelling?
KYARNA: Growing up on Country and around family has profoundly influenced my music. I come from a line of storytellers and trauma. Telling truth from the depths of the soul is how I write.
Being connected to Country adds safety – I belong there, so I feel safe sharing my stories.
HAPPY: Working with ARIA Award-winner Matt Fell must have been exciting. What did he bring to the recording process?
KYARNA:Matt is a genius. He’s generous, out-of-the-box, and hears music in a way that’s hard to explain. Recording with him in Tassie was respectful and wholesome, especially given my grief. And he makes a great toastie!
HAPPY: Who are the artists or storytellers who’ve influenced your sound most?
KYARNA: Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Gillian Welch, Dolly Parton, Brandi Carlile, Lori McKenna… growing up on classic country shaped me. Lately, I’ve been into Lucinda Williams.
HAPPY: This is your debut single – what kind of world do you hope listeners step into?
KYARNA: I hope listeners can go on the journey of the track, find a piece of themselves in it. Meet in Love feels universal – a love that isn’t quite aligned with the universe’s plans but could one day be.
HAPPY: If you could sum up Meet in Love in one feeling or image, what would it be?
KYARNA: Sitting on the beach watching the sky turn dusty pinks and oranges at sunrise – hopeful, ready for a new day, imagining a love met again someday.
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
KYARNA:Spending time with loved ones, spending time alone, a really good cup of coffee or matcha, being in a café in the rain, travelling, sharing stories … I’m naturally a happy person, so it doesn’t take much!
