'Solid Rock' artist and songwriter Shane Howard to perform intimate acoustic set in Merimbula

"It's amazing how that song embeds itself so deeply in the Australian psyche, it's a humbling thing, it's a responsibility as well, and I never forget that," the artist and guitarist of Australian rock band Goanna said.

"We are still trying to find a voice for Aboriginal people to be able to have their voice heard in the parliament.

"It's a justice issue, it's a truth telling issue."

Waking up during a campfire ceremony at the base of Uluru back in 1981, during a 10-day camping trip, Howard said he had a sudden revelation about Australia - that he was in someone else's country.

He jotted down the first line of Goanna's well-known hit 'Solid Rock', the truth of which continually sinks deeper into our imaginations, capturing a glimpse of our nation's history written from a place of authenticity.

"Yeah, out here nothing changes, not in a hurry anyway, and it's kind of where it began for me," Howard said.

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"I was at Uluru when I wrote that line, and it is a place to deeply consider endlessness.

"Whether that's in the daytime, looking at this incredible monolith that is greater, higher than the Eiffel tower, and nine kilometres around, or whether it's at night time when you're staring into the soul of the universe.

"Big questions, you can think big thoughts in a big landscape."

Howard will be touring Yuin country where he will be performing an intimate acoustic concert at Merimbula's heritage-listed Twyford Hall on Saturday, August 26, with special guest Kate Burke.

"It's me and a guitar and my voice," Howard said.

"I have hundreds of songs, I don't want to make any of the others jealous of Solid Rock, they're like your children, you can't say I favour one child over another.

"They all come from somewhere, from a need to be written, so for me they are all as important as each other."

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He will be performing with his custom Maton guitar, whose history encapsulates memories from his own life, built from a tree that grew on his great grandparents farm, wood from The Kimberley, Southwest Australian Jarrah, and Tasmanian Huon pine.

A strong supporter of the 'Yes' vote in the upcoming referendum, Howard will invite the local grass roots 'Yes' group to share information on the night, and invite Uncle Ossie Cruse to share his thoughts with the audience.

"We've come a long way in 40 years. Solid Rock was released in 1982, but we've still got a long way to go, and I think the response to the YES 23 referendum has shown us that we've still got a lot of maturing to do as a nation," he said.

"These are important conversations to have, we have to. The first premise is this, the country was stolen, that's undeniable, and that's what the song says.

"The prosperity we enjoy in this country comes from the back of immeasurable suffering and loss for Aboriginal people.

"I don't think we can move forward as a nation until we resolve these issues.

"When we get to that independence of mind, to acknowledge the errors of our history, the tragedies of our history, I think that's when we will get to a starting line [where we] can hold [our] head up in the world."

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