We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung peoples and the extended clans of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the lands we gather on for ALWAYS LIVE. We recognise and celebrate their connection to songlines and Country, ceremony and story, and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present.

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RnB/Hip Hop/Rap
RnB/Hip Hop/Rap
FRI 22 NOV

Gaba Musik, ALWAYS LIVE and Arts Centre Melbourne present

BLAKTIVISM with Baker Boy

and Uncle Bart Willoughby, Yung Warriors, Selwyn Burns, Uncle Robbie Thorpe, Kulin Nations Songwomen, Deline Briscoe, Suga Cane Mamas, Tasman Keith, Brothers in Arms, Yirrmal, Kaiit, Breanna Lee

Hamer Hall

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →
BLAKTIVISM →
with Baker Boy →

Ticket Information

Fri 22 Nov

Hamer Hall
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Plan Your Experience

Set Times

7:00pm

Doors

7:30pm

BLAKTIVISM

8:30pm

Interval

8:50pm

Baker Boy

10:00pm

Finish

Baker Boy leads a BLAKTIVISM line-up of living legends and rising voices of First Nations musical activism. 

For the fourth year in a row, BLAKTIVISM brings together an incredible line-up of First Nations artists, celebrating Blak Cultures and activism on the Hamer Hall stage. Headlined by hip-hop artist Baker Boy, the lineup features a diverse, multi-generational collection of pioneers and emerging voices of First Nations music and art.

Since first capturing the attention of the Australian music scene in 2017 as the winner of the Triple J Unearthed National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) Competition, proud Yolngu artist Baker Boy has well and truly broken out to become one of the nation’s most electric performers. Baker Boy has performed on tours with Yothu Yindi, Dizzee Rascal, A.B. Original and US superstar 50 Cent, and his critically-acclaimed 2021 debut album Gela rose to No. 3 on the ARIA charts.

Baker Boy will be joined by co-founder of legendary rock band band, No Fixed Address, Bart Willoughby, jazz singer Deline Briscoe, vocal trio Suga Cane Mamas, and more. There will also be a very special performance by the Kulin Nation Songwomen, whose voices will call out in tribute to their matriarchal ancestors. 

This year’s theme, Holding Koorie Space, will pay tribute to Koori families who have fought to retain their land and voice over the years. BLAKTIVISM will pay homage to the bravery of these pioneers, keeping their stories alive through song, ceremony, visual art, dance and creative collaboration.

Artists

Proud Yolngu man, renowned artist, and 2019 Young Australian of the Year, Danzal Baker OAM, also known as Baker Boy, originates from Milingimbi and Maningrida in North-East Arnhem Land. Since his breakout in 2017 with "Cloud 9," Baker Boy has captivated the Australian music scene with his infectious optimism, passion for music and dance, and deep cultural roots.

Seven years later, Baker Boy has become a pop-culture sensation, earning acclaim such as the National Indigenous Music Awards' Artist of the Year in 2019, 2020, and 2022, and accumulating over 90 million global streams. In 2021, he was honored with the Order of Australia (OAM) medal, and he released his debut album "Gela," a reflective journey of identity and personal growth. The album, featuring the ARIA Gold-certified hit "Cool As Hell," debuted at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and garnered five ARIA Awards, including Album of the Year.

Following a memorable performance at the 2021 AFL Grand Final in Perth before an audience of 60,000, Baker Boy embarked on his largest national headline tour in Australia in 2022, followed by his inaugural North American tour and a performance at the closing ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Currently, Baker Boy is putting the finishing touches on his highly anticipated second album, and scheduled to return with new music very soon

Baker Boy

Pioneering Indigenous performer Bart Willoughby first came to      prominence in the Late 70’s in the Band No Fixed Address  Born on the Koonibba Mission in Ceduna South Australia a Pitantjatjara man of the Kuthatha tribe on his fathers side and Mirning through his mother . Known for singing from behind his kit  in No Fixed Address they were the first indigenous band to tour internationally sign a record deal ,appearing in the ground breaking Docu -Drama Wrong Side of the Road in 1981. For a time he joined his cousin Bunna Lawrie in Coloured Stone until forming Mixed Relations in the 90’s in 1993 Willoughby recieved the Inaugural Aria Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution to Indigenous Music 

Willoughby has continued to travel Internationally and Nationally  promoting his music and culture with ,The Black Arm Band , performing at London’s Barbican Theatre providing music for the Malthouse Theatres production of The Shadow King. He performs both as a solo artist and as band leader of The Bart Willoughby Band .In 2013 he released an Album We Still Live on recorded on the Melbourne Town Hall Organ. The first indigenous artist to do so in ,2014 receiving the Australia Council Fellowship to tour the album . In 2016 Willoughby along with the original line-up of No Fixed Address were inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame In May 2016 he recorded in The Bungle Bungles with Stephen Pigram releasing the Album Resonance in 2017 and toured the album with a showcase at the Fitzroy Town Hall in 2018  In 2019 he was part of Kutcha’s Carpool Koorioke in 2020 A street was named in honour of his first Band of Adelaides Rundle Mall No Fixed Address Lane and a book is currently being written on the band. Willoughby began recording a new Album official Launch of the Lane Way and Album at due later in 2021  

Uncle Bart Willoughby

Hometown pride runs deep for 26-year-old rapper Tasman Keith, whose music is indebted to giving back to the community that raised him. From a small town on New South Wales' mid-North Coast most commonly recognised for one of the country’s most notorious missions and most shameful history, the rapper is carrying on the storytelling traditions of his family, by writing a new chapter through music. From syrupy 90s West Coast synths, to neo-funk, skittering trap hi-hats and emotive R&B, his music defies categorisation, but his message remains hard to ignore. 

Tasman Keith

Suga Cane Mamas are voice, string and stories told by three Blak women. Berniece Peeauake, Eilla Appo and Georgia Corowa the gentle breeze that brings original soul songs, woven from generation to generation of First Nations and South Sea Islander bloodlines. Each melody is an invitation to pause, rest and reflect over a cuppa and to have a yarn with your fave person. 

Suga Cane Mamas

Yung Warriors

Selwyn Burns is a Melbourne based Yorta Yorta guitarist and songwriter who co-wrote some of the classics of Aboriginal rock music with the band Coloured Stone. He has toured the world and all over this vast land with No Fixed Address, Mixed Relations and Blackfire. A talented musician that was playing with soul grit and bite well beyond his years, he has been inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame for his contribution to the classic sound of the Aboriginal Rock and Rock Reggae with No Fixed Address. There are very few guitarists that can create iconic riffs that last into the charts for decades, as Selwyn has done. 

Selwyn Burns

Robbie Thorpe is a long-time activist and the presenter of Melbourne community radio station 3CR’s ‘Fire First’ program. Robbie is from the Krautungalung people of the Gunnai Nation, the traditional owners of Lake Tyers. He has been active in indigenous solutions and has been a strong advocate for ‘Pay the Rent’, an indigenous initiative intended to provide an independent economic resource for Aboriginal peoples. 

Uncle Robbie Thorpe

The Kulin Nations Songwomen are a collective brought together to open BLAKTIVISM with Mundanai, a ceremonial sharing of the spirit of healing through the power of culture and the richness of song. These 5 women will pay tribute to their Matriarchal ancestors. Without the Mother there is no life -  this is a continuum of the circle that journeys back to our birthing place. 

Kulin Nations Songwomen

Yalanji Woman of Song, Deline Briscoe has toured the world sharing her exquisite vocals with over 1 million audience members worldwide.

Deline shares her extraordinary jazz-infused vocals intertwined with Yalanji Wawubarri singing, gospel conviction and bluesy grit & bite. Her Vocal delivery is captivating and moving as is her grateful presence, with herdynamic range from the sweetest melodies into inspired wailing notes Deline tells her stories of Love hope and loss, reaching into the audience in the spirit of truth telling and healing.

Deline Briscoe

Brothers in Arms

Yirrmal

Sprigga Mek - Straight from the streets of Port Moresby he is a pioneer of PNG Hip Hop. Sprigga Mek is undoubtedly one of the most multilingual rappers alive, flowing seamlessly between 10 languages, with big hooks in English and Tok Pisin. With his straight talking, hard hitting lyrics and charismatic delivery Sprigga Mek breaks through the language barrier with this new album release ‘Kanaka Messenjah’.

Released on the Gaba Musik label, Sprigga Mek’s debut album was awarded PNG’s #1 Album of the Year, 2023!

Sprigga Mek

Papua New Guinea born, now Naarm/Melbourne based, Kaiit (pronounced Ky-yeet) burst onto the scene in 2017 with her debut single “Natural Woman”. Creating waves online and commanding the attention of soul and hip hop 
tastemakers, the subsequent release of her debut EP Live From Her Room (and, in particular, the smoother-than-smooth love ballad “OG Luv Kush Pt 2”) fuelled her first sold out national tour and established her as a must-see act at Bigsound 2018. 

Kaiit has gone on to build a truly global community of fans, amassing over 30 million streams and 90,000 followers on Spotify alone. She achieved a career highlight when she took home Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2019 ARIA Awards for the sun-speckled bop “Miss Shiney”. On the live front, Kaiit has sold out multiple national tours, performed at Splendour in the Grass and Laneway Festival, and supported a number of international heavyweights, including SZA and The Internet. Her passion for jazz and soul is evident in her music, and was confirmed by neo-soul queens Jill Scott and Erykah Badu who personally claimed her as their ‘musical love child from down under’. Kaiit draws musical inspiration from her idols Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill, as well as contemporary peers Noname and SZA. 

Kaiit is an artist in every sense of the word, with a creative vision sustained by a deep spiritual connection with her ancestors. Her music is timeless, with its shimmery feel-good vibes and nostalgic production. The contrast between Kaiit’s old soul voice and fierce, contemporary rhymes set her apart, painting a vibrant picture of gratitude and community, amidst honest and relatable story-telling relevant to her generation. Kaiit’s infectiously positive demeanour shines through in everything she creates; everything about her aesthetic is bold, beautiful and awake with colour and experimentation. Hers is a compelling and joyful world in which everyone is encouraged to be themselves and speak their truth.

Kaiit

 First Nations Singer, Breanna Lee, is an 18 year old Wemba Wemba girl from Melbourne Victoria.    The 2022 Australia’s Got Talent “Golden Buzzer” winner prides herself on her Aboriginal heritage, as well as her emotional and cultural performances.    Taking stages such as the Victorian State School Spectacular, as a Lead Vocalist, Breanna can range from singing in language, to soulful ballads, allows herself to be vulnerable every time she is on stage.    Being inspired by the talents of Adele, Thelma Plum, Sam Smith, Callum Scott, Jessica Mauboy, and other such artists. She has dreams of making a career off of her passions.   Bree is a proud young woman who dreams of advocating for black youth through her future on stage. Coming from the system of foster care herself, through the many different obstacles she has faced in her life, she provides as she quotes, ‘No matter how hard your life is, you can always accomplish your dreams’.” 

Breanna Lee

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