And, he could never have imagined how it would impact his identity, and his music.

“It was like a really badly kept secret in our family,” he said.

“When I turned 16 I should have tried to find something out about it but my family imploded and my dad and mum went separate ways, my brother and I lost track of each other, it’s a pretty messy story.

“But it really added up to the fact that I didn’t talk to my parents for a long time so I didn’t get the family history.”

His band, Kevin Bennett and The Flood are playing at The Tamworth Hotel on November 3, they’ll be debuting some tracks from their upcoming album.

It’s the first time Bennett has integrated his traditional Kamilaroi language into his songwriting, supported by  John Krsulja from the DAG Sheepstation in Nundle.

“I’ve written about Aboriginal issues forever though, sometimes I’ve written about how badly Aboriginal people have been treated in this country and gotten into trouble from both sides – from white and black people,” Bennett said.

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“In the last 30 years I’ve written half a dozen songs about Australia’s mistreatment of Aboriginal people and now it’s brought it home to me more because I am one but I’ve never been mistreated because I don’t look Aboriginal to me.

“I’ve never suffered that racism or overt discrimination, but we have to say something about it.”

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