Redland Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) will partner with notable Quandamooka singer/songwriter Adam James on a major new Indigenous music project.
The two-year project, which has received $160,000 through Arts Queensland’s First Nations Commissioning Fund, will create a new concert-length program called The Great First Nations Songbook, drawn exclusively from the canon of Indigenous Australian music.
Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Council would assist with further in-kind support to the tune of $28,403, including venue and equipment hire, plus RPAC staffing costs.
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“Redlands Coast has a wealth of exceptional First Nations artists and we are very proud that this has been recognised at a state level through the funding support,” Cr Williams said.
“Artist development is crucial and we are very lucky to have such a high-quality performing arts centre on Redlands Coast that can support artists on their journey.
“Importantly, this project will also be used as a mentoring program for young Indigenous songwriters and musicians and offer them the opportunity to learn from Adam’s extensive career in the music industry.”
The project will draw together the talents of more than 20 artists and technicians and create a repertoire of 15 iconic works, including songs from Archie Roach, Emma Donovan, Dan Sultan, Jimmy Little, Jess Beck, Yothu Yindi, Leah Flanagan and Troy Cassar-Daley.
These works will be re-imagined in the style of 1960s big band music, bringing some of the greatest First Nations sounds into a new era for new audiences.
Mr James, who spent his early years on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island, has been awarded $150,000 over two years, plus an additional $10,000 to commission new music, through the First Nations Commissioning Fund to bring the project to life.
He said the project would bring together the best of Indigenous Australian music and present it to new audiences.
“The proposed show is both a hark back to familiar tunes audiences will know and love, a revival of the old jazz crooners who defined mid-20th century popular music performed through the lens of First Nations’ experience,” Mr James said.
“We are proud to present First Nations music that reimagines song lines where old becomes new and new becomes old.”
The First Nations Commissioning Fund is supporting opportunities to share unique stories and cultural knowledge, and elevates the exceptional art works, experiences, music, dance, theatre and visual arts of First Nations artists and organisations in Queensland.
More information on the First Nations Commissioning Fund is available on the Arts Queensland website.
