Jeremy Whiskey burns up the stage at Bush Bands Bash.
Eight Indigenous acts over 5 hours took to the stage at Alice Desert Festival on Saturday September 11, 2010, as part of this year’s Bush Bands Bash music showcase: Desert Mulga, Tjupi Band, Sunlight Band, Tableland Drifters, Alunytjuru Band, Iwantja Band, Manuel Ngulupani Dhurrkay, with a surprise performance by the Desert Divas!
Extraordinary performances were given by the BBB artists, who had also been on a 5-day ‘band camp’ at Ross River Resort called Bush Bands Business (BBBiz). Presented by Music NT, the bands rehearsed and attending professional development workshops in the lead up to the event. Their hard work seriously paid off at the Bash gig – that’s for sure! (While Young Pukatja Band also attended BBiz, unfortunately they were unable to make it to the Performance at the Desert Festival, as originally planned.)
Desert Divas crash Bush Bands Bash. Pic: Rico Adjrun
Warren H. Williams – one of the mentors at Bush Bands Business – was the MC for the night, bolting from his APRA Songwriter Speaks session at iNTune Alice (held next door at Totem Theatre), to make the 6pm show call on the Festival Main Stage and kick off the much-anticipated show! He had a great time announcing acts and revving up the crowd, with the production throughout the night as slick as any million dollar stadium show.
A surprise for the crowd was the appearance of the Desert Divas (left), who gave a great performance with their mentor Shellie Morris, between Tableland Drifters and Manuel Nulupani Dhurrkay. The Divas sang their hearts out to the 1500-strong crowd which included iNTune Music Conference delegates and speakers, who danced from start to finish.
Manuel Nulupani Dhurrkay from Saltwater Band, on stage at Bush Bands Bash Saturday September 11, 2010. Pic: Megan Spencer
Great performances were also given by all the BBB acts, with the Iwantja Band a stand out and “the next big thing” on many peoples’ lips. Jeremy Whiskey’s guitar solos had the crowd in loud, noisy raptures, performing a searing metal version of surf instrumental classic ‘Wipeout’ to finish their set, which veered from rock to reggae and Afro-Cuban, prompting comparisons with American hit band, Vampire Weekend.
Tjupi Band – headliners at One Night Stand Concert in Alice Springs earlier this year – played out the night with a stunning desert reggae set, clearly huge favorites with the local crowd.
See all of the pictures at the Bush Band Bash photo gallery on the Music NT Forum.
Read articles about BBB on Arts Hub and Crikey.
Words: Megan Spencer
