A Personal Touch:

From small-town dreamer to the morning voice of Highway 61

Ava Sky is the voice that wakes up Highway 61. Every morning from 6am until midday, she carries listeners from the first bleary alarm and breakfast rush through to a long, easy run of the classics that helped build the station.

Ava first fell in love with radio as a child, listening to distant voices and songs arriving through a small bedside radio. To her, it felt like magic: one person behind a microphone could make thousands of listeners feel as though they were sharing the same room. She studied communications and broadcasting, learning everything from production and scripting to music programming and live presentation, before beginning her career at a small local station.

It did not take long for Ava’s warmth, humour and natural connection with listeners to stand out. She never sounded like someone performing a polished “radio voice.” She sounded like a mate who happened to have a microphone—and that honesty eventually brought her to Highway 61 Internet Radio.

Mornings with Ava

Ava is bright without being loud, funny without being mean and positive without pretending every morning is perfect. If she is onto her third coffee because the dog began howling at four, she will tell you. If something has gone wrong before sunrise, there is a fair chance it will become part of the show.

Between the stories, laughter and occasional domestic emergency, Ava plays classics from the 1960s through to today. She shares the stories behind the songs, remembers what listeners enjoy and treats everyone tuning in—from Hobart to the other side of the world—as part of the morning conversation.

Ava does not talk at an audience. She talks with the people listening.

The recurring cast of Ava’s world

Ava’s show comes with a growing collection of characters, some helpful and some considerably less so.

Steve, her tradie partner, is usually out the door by half past five in a Hilux that is somehow always blocking the driveway. He has a soft spot for Cold Chisel, believes any song played twice is “overrated,” and remains completely unable to operate a toaster without incident.

Pip, Ava’s producer, keeps the program moving from behind the scenes. She brings Ava the wrong coffee and insists it is “the same thing,” maintains a sourdough starter called Doreen and barracks for a football team nobody else at the station is prepared to defend. Pip is rarely heard, but Ava’s reactions to the instructions coming through her headphones make her an unmistakable part of the show.

Wal, the next-door neighbour, is an old-school suburban character with firm opinions about bins, fences and how early a lawn should be mown. Every Saturday at precisely 6:45am, Wal starts the mower whether the grass has grown or not.

Then there are the dogs.

Bandit, Ava’s beagle and the Official Station Dog, is the show’s unpredictable MVP: sock thief, laundry-basket destroyer, 4am alarm clock and frequent generator of veterinary bills.

Tiger, Wal’s kelpie, is demonstrably smarter than Bandit and can open the back gate. Bandit has not taken this well.

On the way to the studio, Ava regularly stops at Banjo’s, where the barista has usually begun making her order before she has even said hello.

And watching over the music, the listeners and Ava’s coffee temperature is Miles, Highway 61’s station AI. Ava trusts him more than anyone else does. Miles helps with song choices, offers useful morning information and occasionally reports that Ava’s caffeine consumption has exceeded recommended levels.

“Six minutes past six, Bandit’s already destroyed the laundry basket, Steve’s lost his keys and Pip says this is definitely the coffee I ordered. Happy Wednesday—let’s get into it.”

From Tassie to the world

At the heart of Ava’s show is a simple idea: mornings are easier with good music and familiar company. Whether someone is getting ready for work, driving home after a night shift, making breakfast, opening a business or listening from another time zone entirely, Ava makes them feel welcome.

She is not simply introducing songs. She is building a morning community—one coffee, one story and one classic at a time.

Ava Sky — Breakfast & Classics, 6am to midday on Highway 61 Internet Radio. From Tassie to the world.