Why Elly-May Barnes wants to give musicians the chance her dad Jimmy gave her

Growing up on stage with her father, Jimmy Barnes, singer-songwriter Elly-May Barnes was never made to feel excluded because of her disability. Her dad made sure of it. But for those outside Australian rock royalty, the live music industry is not always so welcoming.

Headliners, a new five-part ABC docuseries narrated by Adam Hills, aims to change that. In just seven weeks, Barnes and friends Tim Rogers and Ella Hooper, with the help of Delta Goodrem and Silverchair’s Ben Gillies, prepare two newly formed bands of emerging artists living with disability for their debut at the Mundi Mundi Bash at Broken Hill. The festival took place in August.

Elly-May Barnes (centre) with her Headliners co-stars Tim Rogers and Ella Hooper.

“It’s a big gig,” says Barnes, the youngest of Jimmy and Jane Barnes’ four daughters, who lives with cerebral palsy. “Mundi Mundi has 15,000 people and Dad’s played that gig. That audience, they’re not going to be like ‘oh, well done’. They’re not going to politely clap. I wanted to put these incredible artists in front of the massive audience they deserve.

“Mundi Mundi accommodated every single artist’s accessibility needs. Not only did they do that with kindness and co-operation and with great communication, it was such an easy process. Doing that sets a beautiful example for every other festival, and it means it’s really possible. If you can do it in the middle of the desert, for all of these different disabilities, it’s achievable everywhere.”

From the audition phase of the project, filmed at the Camelot Lounge in Sydney’s Marrickville, the challenges of performing with a disability are made abundantly clear. The contenders, which include a rapper, a hulusi player, a drummer, singers and guitarists, speak frankly about their experiences.

Bass guitarist Sarah shares a confronting video of her bandmates dragging her up some stairs to her wheelchair on stage. Halfway through the auditions, Barnes, overcome with pain, retreats to the green room, from where she can be heard sobbing, “My stupid body. It won’t co-operate and I tried so hard. I’m so sorry. I wish I wasn’t like this.”

Elly-May Barnes wanted to show the reality of living with a disability in her new series Headliners.

“I did actually tell the producers that I thought it was important to include that,” Barnes says. “Especially with social media, everybody wants to show the shiny side of their life, with advocacy as well. But the reality of living with disability and chronic pain is that it’s not pretty a lot of the time.

“I felt that if I was there as a campaigner and a mentor, if I’m pretending I’m not struggling, [then] anybody else feels like they’re not allowed to because they have to push through for this opportunity. I think honesty and vulnerability are important.”

It’s at that point in the first episode that a robust-looking Jimmy Barnes, who underwent heart surgery last year, steps in for his daughter.

“I wasn’t expecting to work with him [on the series] quite so soon,” says Elly-May Barnes. “My father has always been my hero. Part of wanting to create that space for other people like myself is that I wanted to do what he did, always, when I was smaller. I was able to work with him and learn my craft and that was really privileged.”

Her collection of walking sticks – some that light up, one with a skull on top – are often mistaken for quirky accessories. “A lot of the time, my disability is considered invisible, and it’s not believed,” she says. “Unless I’m in a wheelchair, and even then, people will ask me what I’ve done or why. I’m like ‘oh, I was born’.”

Having released her first album, No Good, in March, Barnes hints at a tour next year that may include some Headliners’ discoveries. “I would find a way to work with every single one of them in some capacity because they are all incredible and I can see a massive future for them,” she says.

“They are about to be launched into everybody’s consciousness, and that’s a dream come true for me.”

Headliners premieres on Tuesday, November 19, at 8pm on the ABC.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.