LISTEN | EL's Kerry Hiles sets sights on 'nail biting' Ediburgh Festival Fringe

In this episode of That Weekend Feeling, Daron Mann catches up with East London’s renowned artist Kerry Hiles on her musical journey. Having performed at this year’s National Arts festival in Makhanda, Hiles is part of an established line up set to hit the stage in next month’s Edinburg Fringe Festival in Scotland. Her show, A Star is Born — the Rise and Fall of Judy Garland, premiered at the Umtiza Festival in 2019 and won two Ovation Awards at the National Arts Festival in 2019 and 2020. In this segment, Hiles tells Daron about her evolvement post Covid-19 and the feedback she’s received from her fans. Having embodied Winehouse’s impressive voice in her tribute show Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons, Hiles tells Daron that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an effect on the music industry. “I’m finding that people don’t want to spend money as regularly on just entertainment, they actually want an experience something that is tangible for that hour,” she said. Known for transforming the stories of iconic women in her previous musical productions, she received an award from Standard Bank for her shows at the National Arts Festival. “ It is such an honour to be noticed with the cream of the crop. The works that are there in the festival blow my mind every year,” said Hiles. The Herald