Honeybee Creative music programme participant speaks about her experience in the studio…

Through the Love of Music, Magic is Created

At Honeybee Creative in Gympie, quiet transformations are taking place each week for people searching to reclaim parts of themselves they once believed were lost.

For professional singer Ruby Tuesday, walking into the creative space housed within the Australian Institute of Country Music marked the beginning of an unexpected and deeply personal restoration.

She met music producer Stephan Beattie during a period of significant personal recovery following an accident years earlier that left her with a brain injury, trauma epilepsy, and profound memory loss.

“Each morning, I read a statement on my mobile to remind myself who I am — my family, my friends, my past, and my present,” Ruby explains.

Before the accident, music had been her constant companion, she performed solo, in duos, in bands, and on stages wherever music led her and afterwards, she felt disconnected from the very thing that had defined much of her life.

That changed when she entered Honeybee Creative.

What Stephan and his team have built is far more than a music production space Ruby explains, it is an environment where neurodivergent clients, and those navigating personal challenges, are supported to express themselves through songwriting, performance, and a wide range of creative arts.

Inside the recording studio affectionately known as “The Bunker” and what Ruby now affectionately calls “home” — clients are guided with patience, humour, and care as their words are shaped into music, rehearsed, performed, and recorded.

Creativity at Honeybee extends well beyond music, as participants explore visual art, theatre, filmmaking, photography and storytelling. Stephan alongside fellow Honeybee Creative facilitators Rachel Clancy and Kerry-Dee McDonald deliver collaborative projects designed to build confidence and self-expression.

“It’s a place where individuality is celebrated and expression is always safe,” Ruby says, “these are not simply sessions; they are transformative experiences.”

Through observing others and participating herself, Ruby slowly began to reconnect with music in a way she thought was no longer possible.

Working closely alongside Stephan, she is now writing her own songs, often drawing from poetry, personal reflections and the stories of those around her.

“We laugh through the process and I trust his guidance and feel supported, and the man who was once my producer is now a treasured friend.”

Ruby says Stephan’s work is not just about helping people create music, but about helping them rediscover their voices.

“Through creating music together, my confidence is rebuilding, my memories are reconnecting, and the part of me that once felt broken is beginning to feel whole again, I would now love to create a duo, trio or join an established band and make beautiful music together.”

For Ruby and many others, Honeybee Creative is more than a studio, it is a place where people are rebuilt through art, and where voices sometimes thought lost forever, come back to life.