Music / Community / Yuin culture
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP / SONGS FROM YUIN COUNTRY
Plus OPENING CELEBRATION AND WELCOME
Celebrate the local artists, cultures and environments of this extraordinary place
Friday April 2nd
LOCATION:
The Sound Shell
Part One: Walawaani njindiwan (Welcome)
Time:
4.30 – 5.00pm
DURATION:
30 minutes
Part Two: Things Are Looking Up – Songs from Yuin Country
Time:
5.00 – 6.20pm
DURATION:
1 hour 20 minutes
Artists:
Heath Cullen, guitar; Pete Wild, piano; Raechelle Kennedy, spoken word; Tamlyn Magee, harp; Robyn Martin, double bass; Kate Burke, guitar/violin; Melanie Horsnell, guitar/banjo; Sam Martin, guitar/double bass; Gabadu; Matty Walker and Kyarna Rose; Jay McMahon, drums.
The South Coast of NSW is Yuin Country. Yuin culture in all its diversity, voices, dances and languages will Welcome us to Country and resonate throughout the afternoon. As the Welcome concludes, celebrated artists and musicians from Candelo will share the stage with First Nations musicians from the region. Locals already love it, and visitors to Yuin Country will return home with a deeper understanding of our creatively inspiring and nourishing place, wondering how long before they can return.
Part One: Welcome to Yuin Country
Walawaani
By Shakeela Williams
Walawaani njindiwan
Welcome Everyone
Mudj-baraga garindjawaraga
Friends many, youth many
Ngamaga walawaani bugiya
Give we, welcome yesterday
Naway burady
Today, tomorrow
© Shakeela Williams and Dr Lou Bennett
Performed on and around the outdoor amphitheatre of the Sound Shell, Shakeela Williams and Lou Bennett perform with the Djinama Yilaga Choir with the Djaadjawan Dancers and other artists drawn from throughout the Yuin Nation.
Part Two: Things Are Looking Up – Songs from Yuin Country
There must be music running in the river waters, cos it runs in the blood of these amazing hills-dwelling artists. The songs and stories from the charming hinterland village of Candelo call across the nation and around the world from those beautiful hills deep in the green Bega Valley.
From Acoustic folk to Australiana, from big-band pop to spoken word performance, Things are looking up – Songs from Yuin Country is a celebration of the creative spirit of our own South East from a multi-instrumentalist, song-writing super group sending out a joyous starburst of the music, dance, language and cultures of this place.
The landscape and people of our region are held within the songs and stories presented in this concert, from the northern stretches of Yuin Country around Wollongong to the rolling hills of the Bega Valley. The artists weave beauty with struggles, truth telling and a gentle optimism.
From Things Are Looking Up
By Heath Cullen
We have all the information
And baby, we have all the tools
And you know Mother Nature, baby
She don’t suffer fools