When you hear Aunty Shellie sing, you don't just hear music. You feel the heartbeat of Country, the strength of language, and the power of love wrapped in every note.

We're proud, beyond words, to see our sister, our aunty, our matriarch of music, Dr Shellie Morris AO, recently named as a finalist for the Sony Music Australia Artistic Excellence Award at the 2025 Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA). Among giants like Kate Miller-Heidke and Missy Higgins, Aunty Shellie stands tall, carrying the stories and spirits of her ancestors with her.

She isn't just an artist; she's a healer, a connector, a cultural torchbearer. A Yanyuwa and Wardaman woman, she has sung in more than 17 Aboriginal languages, not for fame, but to protect what colonisation tried to erase. Her purpose is rooted in restoration, truth-telling, and love.

She's worked in over 80 communities across the country, not from the outside but alongside, using music as a bridge to connect, inspire and transform.

"They can change the face of where they live. They're changing their own lives from these opportunities," she says, reflecting on the power of local voices being lifted through song.

Aunty Shellie recalls the deep emotion of hearing mob sing in language for the first time.

"When I look around and see their faces, their excitement, it's like they have been acknowledged for where they are and the language that they speak. And if music allows that platform, I feel incredibly honoured that I've been chosen to be the vessel," she said.

Her music is more than melody. It's medicine.

"Music is working in communities with our mob. It's beautiful to see. Because that's their hope, that's their inspiration. They don't have a lot of it out there."

That sense of purpose came into sharp focus during the recording of Ngambala Wiji Li-Wunungu (Together We Are Strong) with the Borroloola songwomen.

"I said, 'Oh, how many songs in language?' And the guy… said, 'All of them.' I went, 'Don't. How many is that? What have you signed me up to?' That was terrifying."

But Aunty Shellie did what she always does. She leaned into the fear, honoured the story, and let the music guide her.

Her journey has never been about recognition. It's been about community. Belonging. Healing.

"I never set out to do well. I set out on a journey that was incredibly new, but incredibly exhilarating. And I just never stopped. That's the key to my continuing. I just never stopped. And I love it."

The applause that matters most isn't from big awards nights. It's from the people who've seen her show up time and again.

"I'm accepted by my community. They clap for me. I don't have to win an award. They're still going to have my back."

When the nation does stop to celebrate her, the impact is profound. In 2024, Aunty Shellie received the prestigious Red Ochre Award, one of the highest honours for lifetime achievement in First Nations arts, presented by the Australia Council for the Arts. Of all the acknowledgements, this one sits closest to her heart. Not because of the spotlight, but because it recognised the cultural legacy she has worked so humbly and quietly to build over decades.

To the next generation of Indigenous artists, her advice is simple: "Just don't stop… never ever let the system tell you that you can't."

Aunty Shellie Morris reminds us that music is more than entertainment. It's ceremony, it's connection, it's memory. It's how we remember who we are.

Congratulations, Aunty Shellie. You carry us with your voice, and we are walking right there with you, every step of the way. We see you. We love you. And we are so proud.