Music

A New South Wales musician has expressed his love for Warumungu country in a recently released song titled Threeways ... "We had travelled over 170,000 kilometres and performed more than 270 shows, and we had come to a fork in the road. We were nearly broke, busted and there was nothing for miles": Kevin Sullivan.

Blake Lee. In just 15 days’ time, Birchip’s main street will become a vibrant, action packed site for locals and tourists alike as the community comes together to host the Mali Heart Street Art Festival.  The March long weekend is set to be an eventful one for Birchip, with travellers from all across the state choosing to spend their weekend in the area to enjoy the hospitality and activities on offer with the locals.

Serena Kirby. The coming performances of ‘When Birds Take Flight’ will take audiences on a poetic and musical journey that symbolises the migratory path of birds between Denmark and Siberia. The musical collaboration for voice and instruments has been created by composer/lyricist Louise McKenna and poet and spoken word performer, Jen Fraser, and takes the form of a story-song cycle.

Jex Lopez is mostly known as a singer songwriting pianist. A vaudevillian cabaret noir artist, her music and style is intrinsically tied to her identity as a queer Latina Meztiça with Portuguese Indian heritage.

Vicky Wilson. The final stage of Denmark Baroque’s Fairy Queen project was completed in January, culminating three years’ work to complete an ambitious program. Started in 2021 and stalled by Covid restrictions in 2022, the project focused on community capacity building of the performing arts in the Great Southern.

The FReeZA in Buloke program “Music, Mates and Multiformity” enables young people from Buloke to plan, organise and attend quality art, recreation and live music events that are diverse, safe and accessible for all young people.  The first FReeZA event in Buloke is “Disturbing the Peace” otherwise known as “DTP,” this Saturday night...

The Birchip Hotel is building on a traditional theme of celebrating home grown talent on Australia day and this year the event was another resounding success. Bathed in sunlight, and welcoming shade from the trees, picnic rugs were rolled out on the grassy beer garden at the Birchip Hotel, with young families enjoying a jam-packed card of home grown talent.    

Frances Evans. Following a few challenging years due to the pandemic and drought, it was a return to big crowds and big temperatures at the 52nd Tamworth Country Music Festival ... One name synonymous with Australian country music is Storer. And Storer did not disappoint.

Chris Johnston. 2023 was a fantastic year for the Hub: so many highlights it’s hard to choose ... First up this year is our Instrument Makers Gallery, a special event in partnership with Newstead Live.

Elvis has left the building! Around 25,000 Elvis fans donned their bejeweled jumpsuits, poodle skirts and pompadour wigs to shake rattle and roll the week away in Parkes, New South Wales, for the 2024 Parkes Elvis Festival.

Serena Kirby. A capacity crowd turned out at Rockcliffe Winery last weekend for a memorial concert for respected local musician Colin Reeves ... “Colin and I played music together for around 40 years and he had a real passion for classical guitar,"Colin's brother Michael said ... Michael’s son, Sam Reeves, is following in his uncle’s footsteps and is lead guitarist for Night Train who played at the tribute concert.

A crowd of more than 300 people enjoyed Nhill’s Community Carols last Saturday evening. Perfect weather and an idyllic setting amongst the gum trees at Jaypex Park set the scene for some wonderful music and performances...

Alison Stillwell. It dominates the Kingston township skyline and is a recognised visitor experience, but the Shine On Sunday event took the Lighthouse onto the stage. Local playwright and drama teacher Amanda Stewart’s play, “Crest of the Wave”, brought the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse story alive with a very effective use of vignettes...

For a small town, they sure can put on a big show. A new initiative has seen an award winning indie folk duo take to the stage in Leitchville for their first and only performance in northern Victoria – and there’s more to come. Saije, an indie folk duo from Bellingen in New South Wales, came to Leitchville off the back of an extensive European tour.

Fond memories were rekindled recently at a reunion of Denmark’s John Clark Memorial Band, which officially marked the band’s 60th anniversary ... WA’s longest running public school band has undergone a resurgence in recent years and now has 70 students from the Denmark Primary and Senior High Schools.

Skunkworks Community. Music has always been a powerful form of expression, a means of communication that transcends boundaries, cultures, and generations.  In Australia, music education has long been an integral part of the school curriculum, nurturing young talents and fostering a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

Riverlinks and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) present Of People and Song featuring Lior. The ARIA award-winner is set to make his debut with the MCO and his performance will feature a major new song cycle celebrating centuries-old sung traditions and folk melodies.

The Maldon Folk Festival returns this weekend, with a sensational program that features performers from across Australia, the US and England ... Where to start?!  Let’s begin with Gina Jefferey, who must surely be one of the queens of country music.

The Festival of Small Halls stopped in at Pilton Soldiers Memorial Hall, performing in front of a big crowd. Lee ann Weekes from down the road at West Haldon opened the show. She was followed by Brisbane-based cellist Monique Clare and Canadian musician Shane Pendergast.

If you’re interested in Celtic music, here’s an event not to be missed: the Celtic Piping Club is hosting an event at the Ray Bradfield Room in Castlemaine on Saturday 4 November, starting at 8pm.   Internationally acclaimed duo Colm Broderick on uilleannn pipes and Francis Cunningham on concertina will be performing.  

Travelling singer-songwriter Josh Arnold visited Nobby State School last week to help finalise the new school song with the assistance of the students, who helped encapsulate what the school is all about ... Josh said it was important for the students to incorporate the village of Nobby into the lyrics.