A series of events set off by saying yes to a volunteering gig at the Queensland Children’s Hospital led Cooktown’s Ella Hartwig to opening Guy Sebastian’s intimate showcase. Photo: Child’s Play Photography.
After spending her teenage years covering Guy Sebastian’s Battle Scars, a Cooktown singer is still pinching herself after singing her own signature song in front of the award-winning Aussie star.
Twenty-three-year-old Ella Hartwig got the opportunity of a lifetime when her regular volunteering gig at the Queensland Children’s Hospital landed her an invite to open Guy Sebastian’s intimate show for patients last month.
“Guy Sebastian heard me play Western Star — I’ve made it,” she laughed.
“I thought they were just asking me to provide a speaker or something, because the children’s hospital wouldn’t have a speaker, so I was happy to help, but then they were like, ‘This is your set time’.
“When you’re a kid, and there’s someone famous, they’re so far away from you, but it’s like the degrees of separation are getting so much smaller.”
Although her inner teenage self was bursting with excitement and nerves, she said remembering the purpose of the performance helped her to ground herself.
“Yes, I’m an artist, yes, it’s really cool, but I’m here for the children, so it’s not about me,” Ms Hartwig said.
“It’s helped me with my performance confidence as well, because it’s not the time to be shy or scared to perform. I’m literally there to brighten a kid’s day, and you can see the impact it makes.
“They told me about one child who was unresponsive, pretty much, and when I sang, it was the first time they responded to anything in a while. That kind of stuff is such a big deal and so humbling.”
The singer said the opportunity was also a reminder to keep putting herself out there, reflecting on all of the steps that led up to sharing the stage with Guy Sebastian.
“It’s the whole thing of, you never know who might be watching, and you never know what a connection is going to get you,” she said.
“I started volunteering for them (Queensland Children’s Hospital) because I played a show in the city, and then, because I put my name on my guitar case in front of me, the organiser saw my name and reached out to me.
“The chances of a famous person’s manager walking past is pretty low, but if I hadn’t done that gig that day, if he didn’t walk past and I didn’t volunteer, it never would’ve happened.”
