Loren Ryan thought her first live show of the year would be at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. What ended up being her first gig of 2025 was a big surprise: the Australian Open.
Ryan, a First Nations country singer, performed at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night (15 January) in honour of Indigenous Australian tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley. The Australian Open renamed its annual First Nations Day event on the 50th anniversary of Cawley winning her second women's singles title.
Cawley is a four-time Australian Open singles winner (1974, ‘75, ‘76 and 1977) and was the only Australian to win their home title until Ngarigo woman Ash Barty won the Open in 2022.
Revealing that she was going to perform at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, Ryan shared a video after she’d finished in hair and make-up, looking glamorous and emotional at the magnitude of what she was about to do. In a follow-up Instagram post, Ryan was seen walking backstage towards the Rod Laver Arena ground.
In a third post, Ryan shared a series of behind-the-scenes pictures from backstage and around the Open, captioning the post: “Evonne Goolagong day of celebration at the @australianopen and I am proud to be a part of this year tennis entertainment. What a dream come true here are some pics from backstage and soundcheck.
“First gig of 2025 in the bag. TCMF 2025 here we go.”
In a final photo post-performance, Ryan shared a cheeky, confident photo highlighting her nails painted to reflect the Australian Aboriginal flag. “I know, I know. I'm too Indigenous,” she wrote. “Expect more of it.”
Ryan wasn’t the only one who performed in honour of Cawley. The evening also saw performances by Dan Sultan and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance groups.
Congratulations to Loren Ryan!
Ryan will host a HOEDOWN event at Moonshiners Honky Tonk Bar as part of the Tamworth Country Music Festival on Monday, 20 January. You can purchase tickets here.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
