Border beekeepers gathered for a breakfast dripping with star power on Monday.
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Hot off a performance at the entertainment centre the previous night, a fresh-faced Toni Childs was at the Albury scout hall abuzz with a new project she hopes will take flight across the world.
The acclaimed US-born singer-songwriter has a passion for protecting native pollinators.
And during the breakfast she was keen to point out the real "stars" of the show.
"Beekeepers are the protectors of our planet," she said waving her arms towards the 25 or so people gathered.
"They - and the bees - are the real rockstars here."
Childs is touring Australia with her Retrospective tour on a mission to raise money for It's All a Beautiful Noise, a future project to encourage people to protect the world's bee population.
She is meeting with local beekeepers at every regional town where she performs, interviewing them and creating a "dialogue" with a view to creating a documentary series and interactive 3D music and storytelling tour in 2021.
At Albury she said beekeepers had raised concerns about chemical use, lack of foraging areas and controversial legislation flagged for 2025 with a sting in the tail for beekeepers, essentially banning them from national parks.
"Backyard" beekeeper Karen Retra, co-founder of the Wild Pollinator Count, welcomed the "innovative" idea behind the bee breakfast.
"It is fantastic for someone with such a profile as Toni (Childs) to help champion the cause of our pollinator insects," Ms Retra said.
"She has identified a way to bring together like-minded people through art and music to create a huge show that will highlight the importance of our native bees.
"Together with other pollinator insects, they play a diverse and important role for a whole load of our food but also in the reproduction of plants in the bush.
Childs said as part of her beekeeper link-ups, she would be disseminating a survey that would deliver an overall consensus on key issues for the industry going forward.
"My job with A Beautiful Noise is to shine a light on the protectors of our planet and show how we can all be involved in supporting the immunity of bees," she said.
