Beacho2700 will be one of many First Nations performers hitting the stage this Saturday at the Riverside Precinct. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Two First Nations events are set to take place this weekend at the Riverside Stage and the CSU Playhouse in Wagga Wagga.
The event titled “Murun-Dhu”, a Wiradyuri term meaning “I Live, I Breathe”, will showcase the talents of local and national First Nations artists including performers Philly, Lollipop Barlow and Beacho2700; as well as promote cultural pride, community well-being, and healing during a time of year that can be challenging for Aboriginal people.
The first of the two free events will be held at the Riverside Stage on Saturday 25 January from 6 to 9 pm and will focus more on performances from First Nations talent. The second event will take place at the CSU Playhouse on Sunday 26 January from 10 am and will centre around contemplation with yarn circles and stories from elders.
“We’re here to celebrate survival,” First Nations elder Uncle James Ingram said.
“It’s been a difficult few years with the referendum and ‘no’ vote against us, and we just feel we need something to help our spirits. We didn’t expect to get eight out of every 10 people in the Riverina to vote against us. To get that it’s a bit of a kick in the face; it just wasn’t expected.
“We’ve had to pick ourselves up and events like Murun-Dhu, which is held on a very difficult time for a lot of First Nations people, help keep our community strong.
“We’re going to put on a good show on Saturday. We’ve got a great performance by Lollipop Barlow coming, as well as the superstar, Philly, my nephew, performing for us, as well as a few other artists we’re really looking forward to.”
Mawang Gaway secretary and one of the organisers of the event Bernard Higgins said it was important to celebrate Australia’s First Peoples this long weekend and he hoped to see as many people as possible at each event.
“I’ve truly appreciated that I’ve had someone like Uncle James, who has been a huge supporter of me. He has helped me with things in my life, and I can pay that forward by giving more driven opportunities to younger artists like Beacho2700 and even an amazing 13-year-old girl, Audrina Pinney, who will be MCing the event.
“We are having people who may not necessarily have lots of performance opportunities come on stage, which is great. Last year we had a young woman sing a song, and that was the first time she performed live.
“Things like that to me, mean I can go home after the event knowing I gave people an opportunity to perform and I gave people a voice and a chance.
“Hopefully I will see a lot of new people come along; we’re hoping to see a few hundred come down and enjoy the two events we have on.”
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