First & Forever Festival

Hanging Rock

 

As dark clouds loom over Hanging Rock,  the crowd gathers in the meeting place to witness the inaugural First & Forever Festival. The festival is a celebration of icons of First Nations Australians and a celebration of Blak excellence.

People from all walks of life have united together to dance, sing and get a little muddy as Bugsby Marou, Alice Skye, Mo’ju and Jess Hitcock open up the days proceedings. It’s a fantastic start to the day, that looks set to showcase some of Australia’s best talent.

There is an atmosphere hanging in the air that is simple, pure joy and the faces that line the fence line sing along to every single note. Whether it’s Jessica Mauboy dancing on stage or JK-47 rapping, the crowd know all the words to every song. They dance in joyous celebration of the music and the vibe is sheer pleasure.

More importantly this ground-breaking showcase sends a very powerful message to all young Indigenous Australians. It sends the message that if you are brave enough you can be up on stage along side your idols singing in front of thousands of people. And this message is echoed by the performers as they sing and dance with pride. It also gave mob a safe space to enjoy their favorite idols in once place, and for them to feel celebrated and accepted.

First Nations people have long been story tellers, and with over 60,000 years of song and culture passed down through time, the music being showcased  is a modern form of that ancient story telling. Whether it’s Zaachariaha Fielding of Electric Fields singing in Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and English or Baker Boy playing a digeridoo, the music is a combination of traditional and modern cultures combined in harmony.

The inaugural First & Forever Festival was a huge success, the line up a pure celebration of music, talent and culture. While hosting this kind of festival could have been seen as a gamble, it was a gamble that paid off. Each performance was equally as brilliant as the next, each moment was memorable and the feeling from the crowd was that this needs to be an annual ( touring) event to continue celebrating blak excellence in music.

 

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