For over 30,000 years Indigenous Australians have been coming to the high plains, in the shadows of 'Big Fella' (Mt Bogong) to share their rich culture and the best of contemporary Australian Indigenous music.
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A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the inaugural Big Fella festival such a great day! Despite the cooler weather, hundreds of people joined us in the Village Bowl for a great display of traditional and contemporary Indigenous music, arts and crafts.
Look for the festival to be back, bigger and better next year!
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Pics above (2) by Chris Hocking of the Big Fella Festival on 1 January 2009.
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Artists who performed at the 2009 Big Fella Festival included Jida Gulpilil (above) who performed traditional dance and cultural activities. Other performers on the day included:
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The Grenadines (Contemporary Rock)
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 The Grenadines are a Melbourne based contemporary rock band playing critically acclaimed original music. They have been described as “explosively rocky one moment yet sweetly soulful the next. Their mature and intelligent lyrics avoid preachiness”. Soulful harmonies, blistering guitar and pounding rhythms are all part of their arsenal. Fusing rock, reggae, soul and country sounds these musicians combine to create urban songs about a future Australia.
The band consists of core members, Linc Yow Yeh, Bradley Boon and Polash Larsen.
Linc Yow Yeh: Singer/Song-writer/Guitarist. Linc is a Goreng Goreng man raised in Brisbane but whose traditional country consists of a region including Bundaberg and Rockhampton. He is currently the program coordinator in the Koori Programs Unit at Kangan Batman TAFE and was a participant in the Songlines Mentorship Program.
Bradley Boon: Drummer. Brad is a Kurnai man from Gippsland. He currently works for the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and was a participant in the Victorian Young Leadership Program.
Polash Larsen: Singer/Song-writer/Guitarist. Polash is of Bengali and Irish/Scandinavian heritage. He was born in Australia but went on to spend the first five years of his life in India. He is an award-winning playwright who brings a theatrical sensibility to his lyrics.
Since forming in 2002 The Grenadines have been joined at various stages by musicians such as Alex Landragin, Kutcha Edwards (Blackfire, Kutcha Edwards Band), Nick Larkins (Wild Pumpkins at Midnight, Dan Rumour Band), Greg Fryer (Lee Harvey and the Oswalds) and Peter Rotumah.
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Key Gigs:
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 The Grenadines have performed at many, varied venues over the past five years with highlights including:
- SoCo Cargo – St Kilda Festival in February 2008
- Woodford Folk Festival 2007/2008
- Victorian NAIDOC Ball, July 2007
- Heart and Soul: in honour of Jacqui McCoy Geia, June 2007
- Songlines Survival Day in Treasury Gardens, January 2004 and 2007
- Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, Federation Square and Victorian Arts Centre.
- Folk, Rhythm and Life Festival 2004, 2005 and 2006, Wangaratta.
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Recent Career Highpoints:
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Nominated as “Band of the Year” in the prestigious Deadly Awards, 2007.
- Recorded and Launched debut album, “Story of Woe” with funding from the City of Melbourne and the Australia Council for the Arts in November 2006.
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For more information and song samples from the Grenadines click here to visit their web site...
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Liz Cavanagh (Jazz/Fusion)
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 Liz has been performing around Melbourne for the last four years. Liz gives us a refreshing insight into Australian Jazz music. Her performance and interpretations of Australian Pop tunes not only reflects her ability and style as a Jazz improviser but makes a statement that captures the essences of Australian Jazz music and how it has evolved in this country by crossing boundaries of styles, influences and cultural backgrounds.
Liz's passion for music is equaled by her strong belief and commitment to equality and the empowerment of her community.
Liz is a proud Wonnarua, Tjapukai and Torres Strait Islander women. Liz started singing at a very early age with her sisters, singing Gospel songs in the small country churches and in Aboriginal communities around the country. Liz was nineteen when she started singing Swing tunes. Her first gig was support for Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter at the Robinvale Arts Centre with her Uncle Ray Cassidy on guitar.
Her major influences at the time included Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone Carmen McCrae and Sarah Vaughan. Liz started her vocal training in Mildura Victoria 1988, at the age of seventeen, received an honorable mention in two categories from the adjudicators in her first singing examinations.
Throughout the years Liz always maintained her vocal training and in 1997 she started her training as a soprano singer. This musical passion led to Liz pursing professional training where she became the first Australian Indigenous Music Graduate to come out the prestigious Victorian College of the Art School of Music in 2002.
Some of Liz successes include the release her debut self titled cd EP in 2001 which received national airplay. This national exposure has led to her being nominated for Best Contemporary New Artist at the DEADLY AWARDS, The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Awards 2002.
Her performance history included performance as the Support Band for Don Burrows 2003, performing at the Brunswick Festival 2003, a back-up vocalist for PAULMAC 2002, headlining the Cairns Walkabout Festival 2002, the world famous Spiegel Tent performances 2002 and many others.
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For more information and song samples from Liz Cavanagh click here to visit her web site...
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Tjimba and the Yung Warriors (Hip Hop)
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 The Yung Warriors have a plan! Their aims since last year were to start earning income, polish their stage show, record a brilliantly produced album, do live shows for their communities and in the mainstream and to tour regionally.
They achieved all they set for and more. As well as shows and workshops for their community they performed their original style of Hip Hop in mainstream clubs and festivals and even supported international act and hero 50 Cent. To cap it off they played an intro at the Anthony Mundine world title fight.
They played out live for their community right across Regional Victoria at Lake Tyers Community, Tarerer Festival in Warnambool, Yorta Yorta communities along the Murray, Wathaurong Community in Geelong and even Brambuk Forrest in remote Victoria.
The guys are inspired to show indigenous youth everywhere that ‘there’s always something good out there’ and to ‘hold your head up’. They reach out with ‘Aussie Hip Hop’ for everyone out too saying ‘our music is for everyone’.
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 Tjimba and the Yung Warriors supported causes dear to their communities such as the Snake Safe Sex program, Reconciliation Victoria, The Long Walk, the Melbourne Youth Custodial Service and Indigenous colleges at La Trobe Uni, VCA, Melbourne Uni, Monash Uni and KODE School. The guys helped out Fitzroy Express when they came to Victoria from WA too.
During the year they developed a workshop for schools with spectacular feedback from Camberwell Boys Grammar School and Melbourne Ladies College where students generally agreed ‘The Yung Warriors are the first cool indigenous people we met and heard songs from and now we are fans too.’
Warriors Tjimba Possum Burns, Danny Ramzan and Narjic Day Burns are all under 22 years of age Aboriginal musicians writing, rapping and playing their own style of Aussie Hip Hop with songs from their widely copied ‘WARRIOR FOR LIFE’ album now a hit across indigenous and community radio and TV
These music warriors are an awesome team and all family. Tjimba and brother Narjic and cuz Danny have that natural communication on stage that only blood brothers can have. Their connection is musical too. They work on tracks together, always producing their own beats and playing all instruments; every note is original and recorded live.
Born south of Alice Springs but now living in the backblocks of Melbourne’s northern suburbs around Broadmeadows, Tjimba is renown in his community and a very accomplished musician…. playing any guitar, keyboard, and didgeridoo as well as sequencing beats and writing lyrics.
His musical and artistic heritage is awesome…his father is the renown Aboriginal guitarist and songwriter Selwyn Burns (Coloured Stone, Mixed Relations, No Fixed Address, Blackfire and more) and his late grandfather, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjari, was the first representational dot painters and left an outstanding legacy of true genius.
Tjimba and Danny are so proud of their Grandfather’s achievements and how his paintings sell at world record prices. ‘Grandpa pointed at me one day and predicted “you’ll be a musician son”. The whole family is gifted in the arts with Tjimba’s three younger brothers and sister already playing music, acting and painting. Clifford Possum’s ‘Warlugulong’ sold for 2.4 million dollars recently.
Tjimba and the Yung Warriors have played at many Indigenous celebrations and festivals including at the NAIDOC Ball, the Songlines festival and at Australia’s most popular festival the Big Day Out in Melbourne 2007.
They hope to perform in Central Australia soon and one day in the USA next and plan to produce their second album next year. Tjimba and Danny are working on a ‘mix’ tape encouraging emerging indigenous rappers, already putting back to show how indigenous youth can earn a living and make progress in the music industry.
The ‘Warrior for Life’ album is out now in independent record shops, JB Hi Fi, Leading Edge Stores, the CAAMA Shops, Koori Heritage Trust and more.
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For more information and song samples from Tjimba and the Yung Warriors click here to visit their web site...
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Peter Rotumah (Acoustic)
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 In the early 70’s Peter became interested in music after listening to great musicians such as Bob McLeod and Bob Marley. He saw how they could send across a powerful message about the struggle of the oppressed and make it heard by those who listened. At that stage he was particularly interested in Bob McLeod’s songs about the struggle of Aboriginal people in this country.
It was about this time that he got the opportunity to get up and sing a song or two at the Country Outcast gigs set up by Harry and Wilga Williams (who had a strong influence in developing contemporary Aboriginal music in Victoria) at the Grandview Hotel in Fairfield. One thing led to another and Peter began to meet up with a number of talented young Koori musos such as the late and great Henry “Chooka” Thorpe, Ian “Bear” Johnson, Ray “Buster” Thomas, Bindi Williams and Des Smith. All of these guys were proteges of Harry and Wilga.
In the late 70’s he joined a band with the former four guys and Mal Dobbins playing at the Albion Hotel in Carlton. The band was called Hard Times. 1979 at a time he was experiencing difficulties, Peter, along with Henry and Ian, wrote their first original song. That song was called “Only a Few” – song about the oppression of Aboriginal people. In 1981 Peter, Ian, Henry and a young Wayne Thorpe went to Adelaide to study at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music. At that time bands such as Us Mob, No Fixed Address and Kuckles were regulars on the Adelaide music scene. Hard Times also played regularly and Peter began to write more original songs such as Aborigine Child, Need for Freedom, Struggle No More, Dreamtime – songs that he still plays today.
From 1988 to 1992 Peter played bass for Richard Frankland’s Djaambi which went on to support Prince for his Australian tour. After that he formed his own band 3 Gubbas & Me before going solo.
Apart from doing the campus and festival circuits of Victoria, other ventures included a six week American tour initiated by the Chicago House of Blues Foundation in October 2000
Peter ventured into theatre composing sound and music for John Harding’s highly successful play “No Parking” in September 2001. He also sang and acted in Richard Frankland and Melissa Reeves soul searching “Magpie” in November 2001 and produced and played music for Circus Tarrangos, A Koori children’s circus in December 2001. Peter was also contracted to the compose sound and music for five plays of the Blak Inside 2002 series for the Ilbijerri ATSI Theatre Company in conjunction with the Playbox Theatre Company in Melbourne where he was nominated for a Green Room Award for Sound Design for Richard Frankland’s highly emotional and hard-hitting play “Conversations with the Dead”. As part of that series Peter also acted in “Conversations with the Dead” which returned to the Playbox Theatre in June 2002. In this play Peter’s role was that of “Uncle”, an Aboriginal stockman.
2006 saw him open the Murundak - Black Arm Band concerts held as a part of the Melbourne Arts Festival on October. These concerts featured the cream of Indigenous Australian music. He has continued his association with the Black Arm Band in early 2008 performing concerts in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.
Peter Rotumah has been penning songs and performing his music in Australia and overseas for the past twenty something years. He is a highly respected singer/songwriter and activist who continues to work tirelessly, fighting for the rights of indigenous people. Peter is deeply committed to the struggle of oppressed people’s - his music and message a powerful testament to this.
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For more information and song samples from Peter Rotumah click here to visit his web site...
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Jayden Lillyst
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 Jayden is a young and proud Gunditjmara man starting to get his stuff together who will be performing with Peter Rotumah. He tries a few things in my music (around various genre's) and is an impressive emerging talent.
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For more information and song samples from Jayden Lillyst click here to visit his web site...
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The Big Fella Festival will also feature arts, crafts, traditional kids games, bush tucker, special speakers and much more.
The Big Fella Festival is proudly produced by Falls Creek Resort Management and the Dhudhuroa and Way Wurru Traditional Owners.
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*Festival lineup subject to confirmation.
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