Kempsey-raised Meg Obrien reinspired after Tierra Whack show at Splendour In The Grass

“Best night of my life”: A young musician’s passion for performance has been reinvigorated after she was given the rare opportunity to sing alongside her favourite rapper, Tierra Whack, in front of a massive crowd at Splendour In The Grass.

A young musician’s passion for performance has been reinvigorated after she was given the rare opportunity to sing alongside her favourite rapper, Tierra Whack, in front of a massive crowd at Splendour In The Grass.

Like many festivalgoers at this year’s event Bee-Bee Riot, also known as 23-year-old Kempsey girl Meg Obrien, was feeling down after day one of Splendour.

She’d waited over two years for the festival to finally go ahead, just for poor weather to cancel the first day and leave the North Byron Parklands in a wet mess.

But no amount of mud was going to stop Ms Obrien from watching American superstar, Tierra Whack, perform live.

“She’s been my number one artist on Spotify and her song Peppers and Onions was my most played last year, I’m such a big fan,” Ms Obrien said.

“I listen to her songs almost every day.”

Ms Obrien made her way to the tent early, to secure a spot nice and close to the stage – little did she know, she’d soon have Tierra Whack under her arm, dancing and singing together.

It didn’t take the crowd long to realise just how big a fan Ms Obrien really was.

“I made some friends in the crowd, and when they saw me screaming the words to her songs, they were all trying to get Tierra’s attention,” she recounted.

“Towards the end of her set, she announced she was going to play Peppers and Onions and I was just going crazy.

“She noticed me, singing the whole rap, and suddenly said ‘woah, cut the track’.

Tierra Whack then looked right at Ms Obrien, pointed at her and asked if she knew all the lyrics before inviting her up on stage.

“Everyone around me lost their sh*t and I was freaking out,” she said.

“I’m a bigger bitch so I was struggling to climb the barrier to make it to the stage.”

Tierra Whack's Instagram story, tagging Meg Obrien, after their onstage performance together.

But lucky for Ms Obrien the festival spirit was alive and well, with a fellow crowd member offering her leg to boost the excited fan over the barrier.

“I had the dirtiest boots on – we were in the mosh, where the mud is the thickest,” she recounted.

“I told her I felt so bad but she was like ‘NO, USE MY LEG’ so I stepped on her and kind of rolled over the barrier.”

As Ms Obrien rounded the stage to enter from the stairs, the performer was pumping up the crowd.

“Everyone was chanting my name, it was the craziest thing ever,” she said.

“It was the best night of my life.”

Although she’s been performing since her early teens, and holding a bachelor’s degree in music, Ms Obrien admits she’s never had a crowd that big.

The crowd watching Meg and Tierra onstage at the festival.

Meg Obrien, also known as Bee-Bee Riot, performing onstage.

“I grew up in Collombatti, near Kempsey, and I can’t imagine anyone from back home will be able to believe this happened,” she said.

“I used to busk outside of Woolworths in Kempsey, every morning before school, and even tried my hand at talent competitions in primary school – but a bit of nerves meant I was known at Frederickton Public School as the girl who cried on stage, even when I went back to perform as a high-schooler years later.

“It’s hard to believe in yourself sometimes, with the tall poppy syndrome that can come with being from a small town.”

But all of that stage fright has since vanished, giving her the confidence to join Tierra onstage.

“I gave her a big hug and then we started singing,” Ms Obrien said.

“I love that song, so I was just doing what I’d do it if were my performance.”

In keeping with her regular performance style, which features lots of comedy, Ms Obrien added in a “classic Jack Black-style high kick”.

“The kick flicked mud everywhere, and some of it even went on Tierra,” she said.

“I looked at her like ‘ahh’, but she just grabs me and we start one-foot hopping together.

“The crowd was going crazy, I even had people come up to me after and tell them that I made their Splendour – it was such a blur.”

The experience, plus some kind words from the rapper herself, reinvigorated Ms Obrien’s passion for performance.

“She told me I had such a great stage presence and that she’d never forget me – she complimented my energy and said ‘that stage was yours’,” Ms Obrien said.

“It just made my whole life.

“Then I went backstage, where I got to meet her makeup artist and Tierra’s mum.

“I even had this producer guy come up to me and ask for my email so they can arrange to send me merch – which was great because there was no Tierra Whack merch left for sale at the festival.”

The rapper asked to hear some of Ms Obrien’s music, so the two exchanged phone numbers and vowed to meet again when the artist is in Australia next.

She later ran into some of the attendees who saw the performance, where Ms Obrien’s talent was again complimented.

“This one lady gave me a huge hug and said ‘if you have any reservations, this is the reason to just stop – do everything that you wanna do, because Tierra Whack thinks you’re rad’,” Ms Obrien recounted.

“I just didn’t know what to do, so I ended up crying in her arms, because I really needed to hear that.

“After chatting with them, I ran into another group that recognised me, then another – I couldn’t walk for more than two minutes without having someone approach me, offering their love and hugs, which was just so nice.”

One pair, a girl and her grandfather, told Ms Obrien her performance was reminiscent of old-school rock.

“The man was like ‘I’m 70-years-old and I feel invigorated again after that performance,” she said.

“I thanked them and told him my go-to karaoke songs are ACDC.”

In an Instagram story after the festival, Ms Obrien shared her thoughts about the experience.

“I’m going to start to follow my gut, post more music, and you’re gonna see it,” she said.

“Tierra Whack believes in me!”

Ms Obrien has high hopes for her music career, having released her first single just this month.

“One day I’ll be on that stage as my own act, I can feel it,” she said.