"We went to school together at Sacred Heart and both found ourselves back in the Bay due to Covid circumstances. It was Sinead's idea to get together and we started working towards performing in the Fringe. We've continued playing gigs since," said Aarons.
Since being home, Hegarty has also been involved in the Heretaunga Women's Centre, "to reinvigorate a sense of community, especially with women".
All ticket sales from the event will go the Heretaunga Women's Centre, a cause the duo are passionate about.
"They do such amazing stuff, they do all sorts of workshops, like yoga and knitting, anything you're interested in," said Aarons.
"It's very holistic, they use a wrap-around approach to women's wellbeing, through one-on-one counselling, group therapy, normal hang-outs and the Centre's sense of community," Hegarty said.
The pair have used music to explore their identities and journey into womanhood, which has provided a liberating form of communication and "given us a different vocabulary" said Aarons.
"Women's issues are super important and relevant to us. The music that we play explores that and helps us navigate the world as young women.
"We use it as a form of self-expression, by putting out the kind of narratives and stories that we want to tell," Aarons said.
The Cellar's music writing process is influenced by the conversations that the two artists share with each other, enabling them to explore topics that are an extension of everyday life.
"One of the songs that I have written and that we perform is called After Dusk," Hegarty said.
"It's about an event that Bella, I and a friend experienced at a quiz night when this guy came up and wouldn't leave us alone.
"He had a sense of entitlement to just interject on our night together and I ended up saying you're making us uncomfortable in quite a matter-of-fact way, and his response was like this really big over the top reaction basically telling me how rude I am.
"I was like wow, I can't believe this is happening to me. And in that moment I was like if you do speak there's a consequence and if you don't speak then you have to deal with that feeling of just letting something happen to you without doing anything.
"Music is that other option, where I get to have my opinion about this and no one can take that away."
The duo said the event itself is not exclusive to women and that people of other genders and identities are warmly welcomed.
"It's for everyone, everyone is welcome but specifically, it's a safe space for women's voices to be heard," Hegarty said.
"It's important to uplift the voices of minorities in the male-dominated space of the music industry. We want to make a safe space for sharing art and stories and finding connection" Aarons said.
If lockdown should interfere with the event on September 4, the duo say that it will be rescheduled for a later date.
"We're all in Hawke's Bay and keen to perform because of what the event itself means and is, not because it falls on that specific day," said Hegarty.
Artists performing on the night include poet Joanna Collins and musicians Kitty Day, de Lune, Sneeky aka DJ Soph, Sarah Wiig and The Cellars. Tickets are available at the Heretaunga Women's Centre, Eventfinda or at the door.
