“I’ve never really shared a lot of my story with anyone, so this is a cathartic thing I’m doing for myself,” the 36-year-old said. 

“I’ve got so many songs and I haven’t really talked about why I’ve written them.

“So trying to speak about them brings back the emotions and it makes me feel more of a connection with myself.” 

The Australiana performer has an incredible story to tell. Her life could have turned out very different from one immersed in music like it is now, because when she was a young girl growing up in Pakenham she struggled to be able to hear. 

“When I was five I couldn’t hear anything, the school nurse picked it up,” she said.

“I had to have surgery on my ears and it turned out it was fixable.” 

But health problems did not stop there, as Doherty had arthritis and so on sports days she would spend the time reading in the library, which is how she believes she became a lyricist. 

She said the way she got through that time was thanks to her mother - and thanks to music. 

“I’ve always been surrounded by music, they say ‘music is the words we can’t say’,” she said. 

Early inspirations in her life were John Denver, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young and she now compares herself to the likes of Missy Higgins and The Waifs. While she calls her music country folk and pop, she says it “is not your typical country music” and definitely fits into the Australiana genre. 

“When I was 11 I got a tape handed to me and it was The Waifs,” she said.

“I wore that tape out as I absolutely loved it!

“I loved the way they described our country, and the music talked about things I knew I’d see one day.

“Once I started going out and seeing Australia I was able to write that way too.” 

Doherty was asked what she wanted audiences to take home from her shows.

“My albums, primarily!” she laughed.

“I love having connections and that’s what I thrive on. I think I’m getting a lot of closure through the tour, so if people can get a bit of closure through their pain and hurt I think that’s amazing.

“I always have an optimistic and positive spin at the end of my songs, they always end up being quite positive at the end.” 

Meg Doherty will bring The What's Mine is Ours Tour to Club Sapphire, Merimbula on Friday, January 18 from 7.30pm. 

She will also perform at the Great Southern Inn, Eden on Saturday, January 19 from 8pm as well as Sunday and Monday, January 13 and 14 from 3pm at the Mallacoota Hotel, Mallacoota. 

Entry is free to all gigs.