Missy Higgins on the bizarre objects fans throw on stage and what she really wants on her tour rider

A Missy Higgins outdoor gig isn’t just about entertaining her legion of fans; the beloved entertainer now does so much more while performing.

You’re in the middle of a big run of summer gigs. A few months ago you posted a contemplative backstage photo to Instagram and joked you hoped no-one would throw a shoe at you. How much do you actually worry about fans hurling them your way onstage?

It doesn’t really worry me when I’m headlining. But I used to worry about a flying shoe back in the early days when I was doing a lot of support spots. I used to worry about things being hurled at me – even insults. You’re just filler before the main act comes on, so I always felt a little like a sitting duck. I’ve had a couple of bras thrown at me onstage, which is pretty awesome.

Higgins would love backstage baby cuddles on her tour rider. Picture: Cybele Malinowski 

Your maternal instincts kicked in at a recent gig when you spotted a lost child in the audience and reunited him with his parents.

Oh, yeah. I climbed down and went and picked him up instinctively. I definitely wouldn’t have done that 15 years ago. I brought him onstage mainly because I wanted a cuddle; I felt so maternal when I saw him. He was weirdly chilled, that kid. He let me pick him up with a thousand people cheering him on. He nonchalantly pointed out his dad in the crowd. I reckon he’ll be a performer when he grows up as he was completely comfortable onstage.

Missy Higgins and nine week old Luna met the pregnant Duchess of Sussex in Sydney in 2018. Picture: Andrew Parsons – Pool/Getty Images.

Have you been successful in getting cuddles put on your tour rider?

I wish! I would love to have a basket of babies backstage. I think I heard once Mariah Carey had a basket of puppies backstage. In a way, it would be wonderful to take the kids and have family there, but the reality is it would be a nightmare.

Have you tried much touring with your children, Samuel and Luna?

I did the whole tour with John Butler last year with Luna and Sammy and either [husband] Dan or a nanny backstage with [Luna] while she was sleeping in her baby carrier. It was really lovely having her there, but I wasn’t getting much sleep at all and I was very rundown. We all got really sick in Perth. I cannot remember being that sick before.

Missy Higgins is back at Melbourne’s Zoo Twilight series. Picture: Julie Lowe

Are you working on any new music?

I’ve done a song called ‘Carry You’ for Tim Minchin’s [TV] show Upright. I’m a big fan of his; he’s pretty brilliant. Then I should be releasing another song a couple of months after. It’s all going to probably happen in dribs and drabs for me now. I don’t really have an album in the works because I don’t have the inclination, or the time. And I think it will be more fun and realistic for me to release things as they happen.

You’re a semi-regular on the summer zoo concert circuit. Have you ever found yourself competing with the inmates?

Yeah, last time the lions were really loud. I didn’t know what the noise was at first – this incredible low rumble, I thought it was a train or an underground railway. Somebody told me it was lions growling, purring, whatever it is that they do. It was a full body sound, almost like thunder, and it was amazing. Apparently when we were playing, they were pacing up and down and roaring a lot.

So Missy Higgins’s music does not soothe the savage beast?

I don’t think so, unless it was a happy growl. I’m not sure what kind of music lions would like … I think they were more, “What the hell are you doing in my backyard?”

For Missy Higgins gigs, including Melbourne Zoo Twilights, visit missyhiggins.com.