Sultan spreads magic
ARIA and Deadly Award-winning musician Dan Sultan will kick off his regional Queensland tour with a free concert at Aurukun. Mayor Dereck Walpo said everyone at Aurukun was looking forward to the concert. “We are expecting a big crowd at the football field to hear him as it is a really big thing for us to have someone of his calibre in our community,” he said. “He will be performing for 75 minutes, which is great, and will be inviting local musos to be a part of the show.” —
ARIA and Deadly Award-winning musician Dan Sultan will kick off his regional Queensland tour with a free concert at Aurukun.
Mayor Dereck Walpo said everyone at Aurukun was looking forward to the concert.
“We are expecting a big crowd at the football field to hear him as it is a really big thing for us to have someone of his calibre in our community,” he said.
“He will be performing for 75 minutes, which is great, and will be inviting local musos to be a part of the show.”
The Queensland Music Festival is bringing the soul rocker to three North Queensland indigenous communities – Aurukun, Woorabinda and Palm Island – as part of NAIDOC Week. At Aurukun, students involved in QMF’s ongoing instrumental and youth programs will get to jam with major stars.
“We are especially pleased that he will be working with our students who are participa ting in Queensland Music Festival’s ongoing instrumental and youth programs,” Cr Walpo said.
“I hope we get to see other great acts in our community in the future like Troy CassarDaley and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.”
QMF artistic director Katie Noonan said the tour was an incredibly special opportunity for Sultan to connect with indigenous Queenslanders who, due to their remote location, rarely experience musical mentorship from nationally recognised artists.
“QMF has been working intensively in Far North Queensland since 2009. For this year’s festival we will once again take the cream of Australian musicians to some of Queensland’s most remote communities, using music as a vehicle for entertainment, education and community storytelling,” Ms Noonan said.
Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist Sultan has been steadily establishing himself as an important emerging indigenous leader.
His third studio album, 2014’s Blackbird, saw him explore his indigenous identity and many facets of his artistry.