Forgiveness plays on muso's mind

Geraldton-bound musician Toby Beard wonders if forgiveness is possible in cases of horrible crime.

The Perth artist, who regularly tours in Europe, found her ideas shaken up when she performed at high-security prison in Belgium.

“We were dealing with murderers, paedophiles, rapists, all the people that had done horrible, horrendous acts in their life,” Beard said.

“It really challenged you on your own judgments of people.

“One of them hugged me — later I found out he was a terrible paedophile and I had embraced him.

“There’s that part of you that goes, ‘can you forgive that, can they move on from that?’.

“He seemed like a lovely person in there.”

That experience was part of a broader journey of personal and musical change for Beard, who admits her music style has transformed over the years, with her growing family contributing to her happiness.

“I used to write these really heart-wrenching, angry songs, and then I just got happy,” she said.

“I’m not writing a lot at the moment.

“With all the touring and being on the road and being a mum, picking up my guitar and writing a song is happening less and less.”

With a 21-month-old son and another baby on the way, Beard has had to make some major adjustments to the rock star lifestyle, shortening tours and at times dragging her family on the road with her.

“Luckily I’ve got an incredibly supportive wife,” she said.

“Last year we took my son, Angus, over to Europe for five weeks. He came to Canada with us when he was seven months old.

“He’s a good little traveller.

“A lot of people thought we were crazy and maybe we were, but you’ve got to keep reinventing every day how you’re going to make it work.”

Fresh from a whirlwind tour around Canada, Beard will bring her raw and energetic blues back to the Bootenal Family Tavern on September 17.

The last time Beard performed at Bootenal it was a sell-out show, and she hopes this year’s gig will have the same energy.

“We always love coming up to Gero,” she said.

“Last time it was this fun, energetic crowd.

“The Bootenal Tavern feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere and feels like a bit of an old shack, but everyone was in a really good mood and it was really good vibes.”

Beard will perform new songs recorded with Eskimo Joe guitarist Joel Quartermain as well as tracks from her albums.