Hindley Street Music Hall, in conjunction with Illuminate Adelaide, hosted Yothu Yindi for a thirty-year retrospective of their music. Happily, it also coincides with NAIDOC Week.
After a Welcome to Country, support act Emma Donovan took to the stage with her three-piece band. Donovan has a naturally welcoming presence on stage. She tells stories behind the songs, her daughters’ favorite song and how she would be sitting on stage near the drums if she could be and of Uncle Archie Roach and Auntie Ruby’s influence on her song writing. Her cover of “Down City Streets” was sublime. Clearly, she was enjoying performing in front of an audience after an enforced hiatus during COVID.
Yothu Yindi were formed from Arnhem Land performers back in 1988. Tonight, was a collection of original members with some upcoming young talent joining the group.
The receptive audience were soon dancing and cheering along as the band played a comprehensive list of songs from their collection. Performers were in traditional dress, with digeridoos and clap sticks featuring.
Yothu Yindi’s breakthrough album in 1991 “Tribal Voice” cemented them into Australian music history and many of the tonight’s tracks came from that album. There was a mixture of songs sung in Indigenous and English languages.
The highlight of the evening was the smash hit “Treaty” which had the audience singing along. This was particularly relevant considering the upcoming Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The band left the stage, before coming back to a rousing encore.
All in all it was a very satisfying and uplifting evening of song, with the spirits of the departed watching happily I’m sure.
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