The Simba Sessions is a small, monthly, community-ran evening of music, poetry and story, curated around a theme.
Music, poetry and the arts have always held up a mirror to society and culture. At The Simba Sessions we nurture and celebrate creativity and diversity, understanding that the stories that lay behind the art are often as powerful as the art itself.
As our artists share their stories, we confront our own.
This month we feature pianist and composer, Nat Bartsch, songwriter, Sarah Humphries, and poet and storyteller, Awale Ahmed.
Join us with for a ‘quiet night out’ to explore our stories in poetry and song, in candle-lit warmth. Always, special night, this will be a night not to miss!
Theme: Lost
Nat Bartsch is a twice ARIA-nominated pianist, composer, producer and advocate from Melbourne, Australia. She is known for creating soothing, beautiful music that blends neoclassical composition with jazz harmony, improvisation and ethereal ambient effects. Her sound at the piano is distinctively gentle and warm, enriched by lyrical, ethereal melodies. Her music is played across the world by people from all walks of life, often in deeply personal moments: literally from the birthing suite, to the final hours before death.
Sarah Humphreys
With a voice like honey and heartbreak, beloved Australian singer Sarah Humphreys is a luminous force in the Australian folk and alt-country scene. Her music is a spellbinding blend of raw emotion, poetic storytelling, and melodies that linger long after the last note fades. Each song she crafts feels like a letter written to the soul—filled with tenderness, fire, and an authenticity that is both timeless and deeply personal.
As a songwriter, Sarah weaves together delicate folk ballads, stirring alt-country anthems, and intimate reflections on love, longing, and the beauty of the everyday. and poetic grace. A true craftswoman of song, she writes with an authenticity that makes every lyric feel like a whispered secret or a timeless truth. Her artistry has drawn comparisons to legends like Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, and Emmylou Harris, yet her voice, equal parts warmth and ache is unmistakably her own.
Awale Ahmed is a Somali poet and a storyteller who grew up in Hargeisa in Somalia. In May 1988 his family were forced to flee the violent civil war there. They travelled, on foot and trucks over the border to
the Harti Sheikh refugee camp in Ethiopia where they lived for several months and from there to Djibouti and eventually on to Saudi Arabia.
Awale now lives in Australia. He moved there in May 2016 as a skilled engineer migrant and has since become an Australian citizen. Awale is a multilingual writer who shares his poetry and stories on stage; fostering compassion and optimism.
A passionate advocate for social justice and refugee rights, Awale's storytelling has been featured on multiple platforms, including The Moth, New Humans of Australia, Words Travel, the Sacrededge Festival and the Wheeler Centre.
Awale counts himself very lucky indeed. His story is an inspiring tale of resilience and hope.
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