Join us for a very special night to celebrate Indigenous culture and raise awareness of the struggle to save Ballerrt Mooroop College, Melbourne's last Indigenous school. The Ballerrt Mooroop Strong Spirit Festival brings you an amazing mix of four of the most gifted Indigenous performers in the country and the high energy, socially conscious music of Melbourne's best local talent. There will also be a deadly Koori kids dance performance, a Welcome To Country ceremony by Auntie Barbara Williams Weston, speakers from the school and an art auction where you will have the chance to bid on some unique pieces donated by local and international artists. This is a licensed event and food will be available.
This promises to be an amazing night you definitely won't want to miss!
KUTCHA EDWARDS is a Mutti Mutti man from Balranald, New South Wales. As well as being an exceptionally talented singer/songwriter, he has received numerous awards for his work in human rights and Indigenous education. In 2001 he was named National Indigenous Person of the Year for his leadership in education and performance as well as the the Best Male Artist at the Deadly Vibes Awards. [http://www.kutcha-edwards.com/]
JOHNNY MAC and MERIKI HOOD, aka LADY LUCK are two of the most gifted MCs in the country. Johnny Mac has been writing and performing hip-hop for10 years and has been a presenter at 3CR community radio, where he has won awards for the “Beyond the Bar” prison broadcasts. Meriki Hood is the Queen of Payback records where is taking the music industry by storm and showing the world what a real Aboriginal female MC can do! [http://www.paybackrecords.com.au/]
JESSIE LLYOD is from far north Queensland and comes from a strong lineage of Australian Aboriginal musicians. She studied music in Perth where she performed and toured with her award winning band Djiva for seven years. She is now a successful solo performer and in 2009 was nominated as Female Artist of the Year at the Too Solid Awards. [http://www.jessielloyd.com/]
JULIA MAHATUWE has been described as “Bjork meets Madonna meets John Pilger.” Peacefully armed with a provocative fusion of original songs, D.I.Y-synthesiser sound-tracks, dance-ritual and footage gathered from around the world, her music manifests to make a difference. From refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border to Britain's Glastonbury festival, she unites music with a commitment to Indigenous rights in a powerful, moving performance.
MATTRIX is a Melbourne based artist making a name for himself with his unique blend of hip-hop, folk-hop, beat-box and good vibes. He has played at many festivals around the country and always pleases audiences with his positive, socially aware music.
SQUID SQUAD are a a theatrical, high-energy 7 piece act who fuse funk, soul, hip-hop, metal, jazz, dubstep, electronic samples and gypsy grooves with booty shakin' ease. They are regularly joined by many different artists such as dancers and a magician and with a guaranteed conga line at every performance, their music is not to be missed! [http://www.myspace.com/squidsquadband]
Keep checking in with http://ballerrtmooroop.org/ for more updates on the campaign.
We acknowledge that this event takes place on Aboriginal land.