Bre celebrated on national music stage

Strong cultural and family links to Brewarrina have helped musician, Rhyan “Dobby” Clapham create an album that earned him an ARIA award last week. Photo contributed

Musician Rhyan Clapham, aka ‘Dobby’ shines a light on Brewarrina through his music and was awarded with a prestigious ARIA Award at a glittering ceremony in Sydney on Wednesday 20 November.

Dobby took home the 2024 ARIA Award for Best World Music Album with his hit Warrangu; River Story.

“This is a win for Brewarrina, a win for Weilmoringle, a win for Ngemba, Murrawarri, Yuwaalaraay lands, for our Country, for our rivers and for the ancient living stories that run through them,” Dobby said.

Rhyan “Dobby” Clapham was born in Wollongong in 1985, his mother had emigrated from the Philippines, while his father George Shearer was from Brewarrina. 

Dobby’s maternal grandmother, Mary Clapham (nee Shearer) was a Muruwari woman from Ngemba country in Brewarrina.

Keen on music from an early age, Dobby earned a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of New South Wales, specialising in percussion and piano. In 2015 he completed honours in Indigenous Studies, also at UNSW, focusing on Aboriginal hip hop music. […]

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