Kalina Fowler at the Spilt Milk 2025 festival. Photo: Mehniaz Aziz, Facebook.
No rendition of “Happy Birthday” will ever sound the same again for Canberra nine-year-old Kalina Fowler after the weekend’s Spilt Milk festival.
The young Kendrick Lamar superfan became the unexpected star of the rapper’s headline set on Saturday night, when the multi-Grammy Award winner stopped mid-song and led tens of thousands of people in singing to her from the main stage at EPIC.
“I was yelling out, it’s my birthday, it’s my birthday, and then Kendrick saw me yelling so he stopped in the middle of the song,” Kalina told ABC.
“It was the funnest time ever – my first ever concert.”
Lamar addressed her personally, saying into the microphone in front of the swelling 50,000-strong crowd: “She was official from the start. Now she’s super, super, duper official. Make some noise for Kalina”.
“Now, on three, we gon’ sing happy birthday to Kalina. Don’t mess this up. The cameras is everywhere. We gon’ take this back to America. One, two, three…”
The moment didn’t end there. After the song, Lamar presented the birthday girl with a signed and personalised cap – a gift she says she will treasure for the rest of her life.
“People want my hat so bad, they tried to give money to me,” Kalina laughed.
“When I get older and I get kids, I will give my hat to the kids and then they can keep going for generations and generation. This memory … is going to stay with me forever.”
@rap Kendrick Lamar headlined the sold-out Spilt Milk festival in Australia this past weekend, and the view during his performance of “Alright” was unreal‼️🔥 Did any of y’all see this live⁉️
Kalina had already taken part in the festival earlier that day as a member of the ‘Yukkumbruk Dancers’, performing a Welcome to Country ceremony. The group, led by her grandmother, Ngunnawal elder Serena Williams, focuses on cultural revival through dance and song.
Ms Williams said the family was still overwhelmed by the night’s surreal turn.
“We were just crying, and we’ve still been crying this morning because we’re just so overwhelmed,” she said.
“Kendrick Lamar has been a face for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth with his political ways of singing about Black Power and the justice issues for Black people around the world.”
Kalina had hoped to meet Lamar backstage but instead watched his set from the crowd, sitting on her grandfather Robert Palm’s shoulders.
“I think Kendrick was a bit surprised at the lyrics a nine-year-old was singing,” Mr Palm told the ABC.
“She knew every word.”
Kalina said she suspects her bright blue braids helped her idol spot her in the crowd. She described the experience as the “bestest birthday gift ever”.
Kalina won’t forget the moment in a hurry Photo: Mehniaz Aziz, Facebook.
Spilt Milk drew tens of thousands of people on Saturday night, despite the wet weather. Lamar was the headline act for the touring festival, which also stopped in Ballarat, Perth and the Gold Coast.
The festival, produced by Kicks Entertainment, began in Canberra in 2016 and has grown into one of the ACT’s flagship music events. After taking a break in 2024, Spilt Milk returned this year with support from the ACT Government’s Major Event Fund.
VisitCanberra executive branch manager Jonathan Kobus said the festival delivered a major boost to the local economy.
“A week out from the 2025 event, almost 90 per cent of ACT hotel rooms were already booked for the night,” he said.
“Since its inception in 2016, Spilt Milk has generated approximately $97 million in economic value, supporting local businesses and Canberra’s visitor economy.”
