LEGENDARY singer songwriters Archie Roach and Shellie Morris were an inspiration to the indigenous community when they performed at a community concert at Wallaga Lake on Monday.
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Uncle Archie was on the Far South Coast to perform a special concert at the Four Winds music festival site south of Bermagui on Sunday evening, while both Archie and Morris also performed at the Cobargo Folk Festival over the weekend.
The Four Winds organisation decided to organise the community concert and lunch with both singers at the Wallaga Lake Koori village as part of their ongoing outreach to the local indigenous community.
Four Winds community engagement coordinator Lara Crew explained concert fit in well with the recently launched Bermagui Project, which was all about bringing out and encouraging local indigenous musical and artistic talent.
“The idea behind the community concert today was for Archie and Shellie to talk about their experiences with song writing and music and encourage people in the community not to be shy and bring out those skills in themselves,” Crew said.
Shellie Morris was this week holding workshops at the Umbarra Cultural Centre, also at Wallaga Lake, with local Aboriginal singers and musicians, passing on her knowledge and experiences in the music industry.
All this would culminate with another community concert at Wallaga Lake Koori village this Friday evening with the participants in the workshop and also those locals from the village that participated in the five-week “Grow the Music” program.
The Bermagui Project could one day see the best of the local indigenous musical and artistic talent on show at the Four Winds festival site.
And there already was some of this talent on display when the boys from the Gulaga Dancers and the girls from the Djaadjawan Dancers performed at the Welcome to Country ceremony before Archie took to the stage at Four Winds on Sunday.
Impressed with Archie’s local performance was lead dancer with the Gulaga Dancers, Warren Foster Junior.
“No one else can perform and give the energy like Uncle Archie can,” Warren said.
“All of us can connect to his songs regardless of which song it is – he is a great leader.”
Archie and Shellie at Monday’s community concert spoke about what inspired them and what music, family and culture meant to them.
“I can’t imagine not listening or playing music every day – it picks me up when I’m down and when I’m happy it makes me happier,” Archie said.
Shellie found inspiration in her family and remote communities in the Northern Territory.
“I had to find out who I was before I could embark on the journey of being a singer songwriter,” Shellie said.
Local Aboriginal musicians set to shine
The community hall at Wallaga Lake Koori village has been a hive of activity for the past three weeks as local residents attend intensive music and film workshops with Grow the Music, an organisation based on the mid north coast of NSW.
Grow the Music deliver creative programs in Aboriginal communities that encourage self-expression.
More than 30 local kids and a handful of adults have been learning drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and singing with directors Lizzy Rutten and Emily White, and a small group have produced a short film exploring Wallaga Lake and surrounding areas with filmmaker Bec Minichilli.
The month long project, which is funded by South East Arts and Arts NSW, will culminate in an exciting community concert at the Wallaga Lake Village on 6 March, and everyone is welcome.
After spending the last four years in the remote East Kimberly region of Western Australia, Grow the Music has witnessed first-hand how powerful music education, particularly in early childhood, can be to instil confidence in people and enrich lives.
Grow the Music evolved while Emily White was teaching in a remote community.
“The Grow the Music Program was born in an Aboriginal primary school, and contains many of the fundamental approaches of early childhood music education," Emily said.
"Because of this and a grassroots attitude, we continue to be relevant to communities that have had little or no formal education in music. Grow the Music is about empowerment and helping young people to see their potential, as both a creator and a performer.”
Lizzy Rutten said they’ve always wanted to collaborate with communities on the South Coast.
“I can’t believe I’ve lived my whole life so close to communities like Wallaga Lake without ever knowing they existed," Lizzie said.
"My journey with Aboriginal people is something I’m so passionate about and I am grateful for the experience to get involved with these talented Koori communities. We hope to have a continuous presence and visit regularly”.
Grow the Music program participants performed at this year’s Cobargo Folk Festival to great applause, providing a nice dress rehearsal for the community-driven concert in the hall at Wallaga Lake.
Performers will include local legends such as CJ Leon as Black Elvis, Keene ‘Bundy’ Ballangarry, Warren Foster, Djaadjawan Dancers, Foster the Kid and very special musical guest, Shellie Morris.
Come along and celebrate the wealth of talent in this unique community on Friday, March 6 from 6.30pm. Entry is free.