Khaléla Romano: A Butterfly Moment

Article by Darcy Goss.

Photo by Darcy Goss Media.

Laughter and chatter fill the air at Brisbane’s beloved music venue, The Brightside. A clear, starry night sky umbrellas the crowd full of eager punters as the third live act of the evening concludes and the stage lights dim. A small shadow darts across the stage in a feverish frenzy as patrons turn to one another and begin to chatter. 

The music fades, warm light kindles the stage and patrons slowly begin to hush as the shadow tiptoes back onto the stage and illuminates. Donning a baby blue crop and radiating a smile from ear to ear, the spotlight ignites her face as she eagerly takes in the crowd of people looking up to her.

“My name, for those of you who don’t know, is Khalela,” she says.

The crowd erupts with cheers and whistles. A butterfly moment.

It’s the night of 20-year-old Khaléla Romano’s very first edition of The Flutter Folk’s BANDing Together series, a not-for-profit event created to support local businesses, creatives and musicians.  She has outdone herself. 

 A massive endeavour for someone still so young and new to the scene, she provided the audience with a magical evening of live music while they helped her to support a greater cause. With an overarching goal to raise money for support services that assist people through their mental health struggles, Khaléla well and truly hit the ball out of the park at her first event.

She sold out the show at 243 tickets and raised over $4000 for Beyond Blue (prior to expenses): an outcome she says still makes her heart flutter.

“To see such a phenomenal turn out when 150 tickets was my secret ‘no way, it’ll never happen’ goal was beyond belief,” she says.

Photo by Darcy Goss Media.

There is a lot to Kahléla Romano. She’s quite the wildcard.

Bright and bubbly with an aura that lights up the room as soon as she enters, she’s gentle but she’s driven. A self-aware perfectionist who knows there are always improvements and opportunities for growth. But above all, she is infinitely kind.

From a young age Khaléla was a forced adventurer. Adapting to the ever-changing environments surrounding her was something she had to get used to. From embracing the diverse and inclusive cultural life in South Africa to developing an indescribable depth of appreciation for the arts in Montreal. She says her upbringing and tight family bond has helped develop and solidify her personal ideologies.

“That whole experience taught me that home is wherever you make it,” she says. “Your friends aren’t going anywhere, and it’s safe, exhilarating and important to explore, expand and make yourself uncomfortable.” 

Such key experiences helped Khaléla to have an optimistic outlook on life with the ability to find or provoke the good from any situation.

“I genuinely believe that every day, even the worst ones and even Monday mornings, have something good to be found in them,” she says.

 This mindset is also hugely influenced by her mother. Khaléla lives by the words she would often absently say in the car at school drop-offs: “Make it a good day and be kind.”

Last year the impacts of COVID-19, being unemployed and seeing people and businesses struggle through the pandemic put a lot of things into perspective for her. As she made a point to shop more sustainably and consciously to support struggling locals, she came to realise that the first people to help you will often be your neighbours.

She decided that she wanted to do something to make a difference for those in her community. The roots of The Flutter Folk began to took and the beginning of BANDing Together started to blossom.

“I just wanted to affect change and do some good,” she says.  “I wanted to be kind and contribute my two cents, and felt I should because I had the means, time and ability to do so, not to mention the desire [and] motivation.”

Photo by Gabi Rankine.

The inaugural event on Thursday, February 11, 2021 featured performances from Maggie Slater, Staples, Purses and Big Dinner.

With a drive to positively help a charitable cause and do so with all of her Brisbane neighbours, she eludes a passionate presence when reflecting on the larger scope of The Flutter Folk.

 “I believe it takes a group of locals to come together to achieve something bigger,” she says.

“The issues I want to address through this series of events moving forward are not issues that only a single person can simply fix. We must be the change we want to see in the world, to throw a cliché at you, but we must do so together as locals to affect on a more global scale.”

Photo by Darcy Goss Media.

Now a bright Brisbanite driven to incite change within the music industry, she is working towards expanding The Flutter Folk name, aiming to continue raising money for charities while shining a light on more locals within Brisbane’s music scene.

She describes her target as “the little fruit-shops and family-owned bakeries of the industry”.

“Through all this, I want to create environments where people who attend my events or partake in them in any way can experience what I wish for everyone – butterfly moments,”

 “Developing a positive mindset … seeing the good and spreading it.”

 Now onto her fourth gig since the Flutter Folk debuted, Khaléla is set to host the next BANDing Together event this Thursday the 25th of June at The Brightside. Partnering with Miss World Australia finalist, Emma Healy, the night will donate proceeds to Variety-the Children's Charity of St. Louis.

Joined by 5 a stellar variety of local Brisbane acts including Ella Fence, Tomtom, Passionfruit, Cheap Date and Karlou the night will be filled with butterfly moments and joy.

Grab a ticket here and come along!