Last month I had the pleasure of meeting Dino Varricchio who is the Editor of Rintocchi Magazine. It is a magazine distributed amongst the Australian-Italian community. Dino was kind enough to write a story about me which featured in the August edition of the Magazine. You can read the article here.
Meeting Henry Catania,
Performer and Songwriter
Through a brief introduction with another famous Italian entertainer of Brisbane, Fortunato Isgro, he spoke of the talents of an up-and-coming performer and songwriter Henry Catania.
Henry started singing and playing music at the ripe old age of three, travelling around Australia in an old converted bus with his family. His dad Robert picked up a second-hand guitar at a garage sale to brush up on his campfire skills — but it wasn’t long before Henry took over, strumming and singing along with enthusiasm, and leaving his papà Robert in his wake.
Henry learning to tune his guitar with Dad
For his third birthday, Henry received a ukulele and quickly became a regular at Happy Hour, playing songs for grey nomads around the fire. By the time he was six, Henry had upgraded to a mid-size guitar and decided to put on a show at a garage sale, playing one song on repeat for hours — and loving every minute of it, not many others did.
At age eleven, he announced he was ready to go busking. Within a month, he had learned ten songs, bought his first real guitar, and hit the streets of Maleny, drawing smiles from passers-by with his heartfelt performances.
Henry's first ever busking set @ Maleny, Qld.
From there, Henry progressed to open mic nights, and it wasn’t long before he was invited to open a show for acclaimed Indigenous artist Emily Wurramara at the Horizon Festival. Since then, Henry has continued to develop his craft. He’s become an accomplished guitarist and is widely praised for his rich, expressive vocals that carry both strength and vulnerability.
In January 2024, Henry attended the Tamworth Country Music Festival and was selected as an entrant in Maccas Golden Gig. Henry performed on the Riverside Campsite Stage and opened shows and performed alongside country music artist Col Finely.
It was also at Tamworth that Henry released his debut single “Hide & Seek” which achieved a top 10 download in its first week. "Hide & Seek" is a song about the bittersweet experience of parting ways with his sister. The lyrics specifically is about missing good memories of playing hide and seek and climbing trees, a nostalgic and melancholic tone, focusing on shared childhood experiences.
The song also touches on the pain of separation and the difficulty of moving on from the relationship with his sister. Henry received a Regional Arts Fund Grant to record his second single "Turn Around" which was released in May 2024.
Now a confident performer and songwriter, Henry has played gigs across the Sunshine Coast and has been privileged to grace the stage at some of Australia's most prestigious festivals — including the Gympie Music Muster, the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the Caloundra Music Festival.
Henry will be playing at Festitalia on Sunday, 7th of September at the Brisbane Showgrounds and the Bi-Annual Outback Festival in Winton, western Queensland on the 24th & 25th of September.
At 14 years of age, Henry is a singer/guitarist/ songwriter from Conondale in Queensland and is proudly supported by his family, older sister Jade, and his parents, Robert and Michelle who are both from Italian-Australian families. He would like to meet his favourite artist one day Ed Sheeran, who knows, they may play together.
Watch out and stay tuned.
Dino Varricchio
Rintocchi