Baker Boy, Electric Fields, 15-strong Shania Twain choir & more announced for Darwin Festival 2018
A dazzling array of music acts have been announced among the 113 events to be staged at Darwin Festival over 18 hot August days and nights (Thursday 9 – Sunday 26).
They include rapper Baker Boy, ARIA-nominated artist Gawurra, Tia Gostelow, electro-soul Electric Fields, Stiff Gins, singer songwriter David Spry (launching his third album Wilfully Adrift), Donny Benet and Senyawa’s mix of traditional Indonesian and experimental death metal.
The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) are presented by Music NT for the 15th year, on Saturday, August 11 with Baker Boy and Busby Marou among the first to be announced.
The opening night at the Amphitheatre sees an audio-visual history of indigenous Australian country music via Buried Country where elders Roger Knox and L.J. Hill join stalwarts Warren H. Williams and Buddy Knox and the younger generation Leah Flanagan, Luke Peacock and James Henry.
The festival’s after-hours venue, Club Awi will present an eclectic mix of DJ’s and special performers every Friday and Saturday night throughout.
The one-offs promise to be compelling.
Two trail-blazing Indigenous-owned music labels – RPM Records (Canada) and Bad Apples Music (Australia) – will come together for a night of beats and First Nations politics.
A 15-piece choir will take on all things Shania Twain, while a host of musicians and guests will take on the soundtrack (Vol 1) of Romeo + Juliet to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Baz Luhrmann movie.
The festival also presents comedy, cabaret, theatre, family, circus, dance, words & ideas, classical music, visual art and films.
Artistic director Felix Preval said, “As the Northern Territory celebrates its 40thyear of self-governance, now more than ever is an important time to celebrate our special tropical home.
“Darwin is a truly magical city with unique experiences, quirky characters and wondrous sights, and the 2018 Darwin festival program is a reflection of these fascinating aspects of our city.
“Our festival program spans 113 events, features 595 artists – 305 of who are NT locals – and is spread across 31 Darwin venues, so there is no shortage of artistic happenings to enrich one’s festival experience.
“We welcomed record crowds at last year’s festival and 50% of shows sold out.”