Meet Kyle Bert | Instrument Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyle Bert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyle, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
There are so many things that give me joy and one of the things I love about making agave didgeridoos is that I get to spend a lot of time in nature. Harvesting agave is probably my favorite part of the whole process. Hiking through some of the most beautiful parts of AZ in search of agaves feels like taking a step back in time. It is so peaceful being out there and soaking in the scenery while working with such an incredible plant. I love to think about the life it had in the desert before shooting up this enormous flower to spread its seed for the future generation of agaves to live on. I use the flowers of agaves that have bloomed years before to insure all the seeds have been spread and then feels like I am giving the agave life again with its flower that has remained drying and curing in the extremes of the desert.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started making agave didgeridoos 27 years ago when I was 21. I had no woodworking experience and had never played an instrument growing up although I loved to dance and listen to many genres of music. I instantly fell in love with the didgeridoo when I got a bamboo one for a present. I had only been playing for about 6 months when I started making them from PVC pipe and then found out that agave was an amazing material to make them from.
Back then there was no real information out there about making them so I just started working on the agaves using my imagination to problem solve and figure out how I could hollow them out and resin them and make them into an instrument. The first ones played well enough and I loved the process and playing an instrument I made so I kept with it. I would eventually, with the help of my neighbor Jerry who had some experience with woodworking, come up with a method to hollow them out without splitting them. This is pretty much the same process I use now but just have gotten way better over the years and added more additions like turquoise inlays and wood mouthpieces instead of using beeswax.
I always worked many jobs while making them, mostly in the restaurant industry, and would sell them locally where I was living in Montana. As you can imagine there isn’t a huge local market for them so really was just making them for fun and just saw them as extra income when I did sell one.
When I started my website I didn’t even have a sale the first year. I felt discouraged but kept with it. I remember the excitement of the first sale and then it turned into maybe one or two sales a month and then I started having repeat customers and with word of mouth it started to become something that I realized I might be able to do full time. And now for the past 10 years I have been able to and it feels really amazing to see where I started to where I am now.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love this area so much and grew up in Tucson. I always like to take my friends to Mount Lemmon so they can see the transition from low desert all the way to the top to a completely different ecosystem. I also love just driving around southern AZ to take in the scenery and visit small towns like Patagonia, Bisbee, Sonoita, Pearce and more.
I love going out to eat at all the amazing restaurants in Tucson. Some of my favorites are El Torero, Antojo Poblano, Amelia’s, Cafe Desta, Pico de Gallo and Cocteleria la Palma.
I also love taking visitors to Desert Museum and Tucson botanical gardens and of course Saguaro National Park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shoutout to my mom Linda. She was always so supportive on my journey making them. I know it was such a different path than what she envisioned for me so her support meant even more. She was the one who encouraged me to start the website 17 years ago and would have never made it to the point I am at now without her. I now can do what I love for a living and see the joy they bring to those that have purchased them all over the world. Know she would be really proud. Thanks Mom!

Website: https://desertmountaindidges.com

Instagram: desert_mountain_didgeridoos

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhdtQA04dqM&t=166s

Image Credits
Lara Hill- Personal photo