Leah Flanagan Band, Shellie Morris and Central Australian groups Iwantja Band & Sunshine Reggae Band have been selected to play at this year’s Dreaming Festival in Woodford, Queensland. And Matthew Hill – a music trainer at BIITE (Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education) will also be running ‘Body Percussion’ Workshops with the BIITE Cert 4 trainers in tow!

The Dreaming Festival is held annually in Woodford Queensland and is described as “a vibrant, exciting and a valuable destination where local, national and international audiences look forward to their annual ceremony time along with the most comprehensive showcase of Indigenous arts from across the country and around the world.” This year’s Festival will run from Friday June 11 – Monday June 14, 2010.

IWANTJA BAND – if the Warumpi Band and NokturnL were to join forces they would have become the Iwantja Band. They are an emerging force of raw Aboriginal rock from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjara (APY) lands. their music fuses elements of Desert Reggae, Blues and Heavy Metal.
Dreaming Schedule: FRI Dingo Shed, 9:35pm; SAT Little Blak Duck 10:00pm; SUN alterNATIVE Lounge 2:05pm; MON BlakTracks 12:30pm

SUNSHINE REGGAE BAND are in demand in 2010, also scheduled to play at Wide Open Spaces Festival near Alice Springs in April 30 – May 2. Sunshine Reggae Band hail from Ikunji, Haasts Bluff in the West Macdonald Ranges of the Central Desert. They sing in both Luritja and English, of the old ways, their home land and the lives they lead. Accomplished musicians, they carve out solid desert reggae grooves and pump out pulsing middle-of-the-dirt-road music.
Dreaming Schedule: SAT Little Blak Duck 11:30pm; SUN alterNATIVE Lounge 11:05am; MON Dingo Shed 11:35pm.

SHELLIE MORRIS – From the Wardaman and Yanyuwa peoples, Shellie Morris has shared the bill with touring artists of the calibre of Yothu Yindi, Grinspoon, Vicka and Linda Bull, You Am I, Tiddas, Jimmy Little, Bluehouse, Rebecca’s Empire, Magic Dirt, Chris Bailey and Shane Howard. Her album Waiting Road saw her awarded an NT Music Award. One thing everyone agrees – once heard, never forgotten.
Schedule: FRI Little Blak Duck 9:40pm; SAT Dingo Shed 11:30am BlakTracks 4:10pm; MON Nomads Palace 1:20pm

Leah Flanagan from Leah Flanagan Band

LEAH FLANAGAN BAND - An artist with a musical style so diverse that even the most stringent of critics struggle to pigeonhole, Leah’s captivating vocals entwined with exquisite violin of Netanela Mizrahi, leave a lasting impression. A storyteller at heart and a multi-instrumentalist by nature, Flanagan moves between guitar, ukulele and piano, specializing in personal narratives that take flight with dry evocative imagery, vocal swoops and musical pyrotechnics. LFB also appeared at The Dreaming Festival in 2009.
Schedule: FRI Little Blak Duck 11:45pm; SAT Dingo Shed 10:25pm; SUN BlakTracks 12:20pm Nomads Palace 5:10pm; MON alterNATIVE Lounge 9:35pm

MATTHEW HILL – BODY PERCUSSION &  VOCAL WORKSHOP The most amazing thing about body and voice percussion is the moment that it moves from structured patterns to improvisation.  After a little practice and a bit of creative conducting, a musical dialogue is revealed that allows us to move and express in ways we normally don’t. This is a very freeing experience and heaps of fun. Hydration required.

SUN MON Dancestry 9:15am

Congratulations to all of the artists involved!