{"id":194667,"date":"2023-10-06T19:03:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T19:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/?p=194667"},"modified":"2023-10-06T19:03:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T19:03:21","slug":"make-a-noise-and-make-it-clear-the-moment-a-chainsaw-voice-an-old-song-and-bagpipes-lifted-the-crowd-to-its-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/world-news\/make-a-noise-and-make-it-clear-the-moment-a-chainsaw-voice-an-old-song-and-bagpipes-lifted-the-crowd-to-its-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"Make a noise and make it clear: The moment a chainsaw voice, an old song and bagpipes lifted the crowd to its feet"},"content":{"rendered":"
By <\/span>Jack Latimore<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A line-up of Australian music royalty took to the single stage for the picnic event at Shepparton showgrounds.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n A surprise appearance from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was well received by the 8000-strong crowd at the pro-Voice Now & Forever concert in regional Victoria on Friday night, but it was rock icon Jimmy Barnes on the bagpipes that brought the people to their feet.<\/p>\n Barnes and daughter Mahalia enlivened concert-goers with hits from the former Cold Chisel frontman\u2019s back catalogue before a rousing rendition of the iconic Australian anthem, You\u2019re The Voice<\/em>, had sections of the crowd dancing and singing along in full voice as the Glasgow-born Barnes belted a solo through the Scottish bagpipes.<\/p>\n The song was gifted to the Yes campaign by John Farnham, the Wheatley family and Sony Music in early September.<\/p>\n A line-up of Australian music royalty took to the single stage for the picnic event at Shepparton showgrounds from early Friday afternoon as ticket-holders streamed through the gates until well after dusk.<\/p>\n A large youth contingent flocked in under sunny conditions to catch Bad Apples Music hip hop matriarch, Baarka, and the \u2018fresh prince\u2019 of Arnhem Land, Baker Boy, before the PM took to the stage with an appearance alongside Yorta Yorta community leaders and elders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The PM told the crowd a successful Yes vote next Saturday offered an opportunity of national unity.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n The PM was warmly received and rallied the enthusiastic audience into repeated cheers of \u201cYes\u201d, before saying the referendum was about recognising \u201cthe great privilege that non-Indigenous Australians have in sharing this continent of ours with the oldest continuous culture on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n It is, he added, about \u201chonouring the form of recognition that we have been graciously requested to give.<\/p>\n \u201cA form of recognition that simply says, we want to be listened to so that we get better results so that we close the gap so that young Indigenous Australians have the same opportunities that non-indigenous Australians have.\u201d<\/p>\n To a surge of applause, the PM added that a successful Yes vote at next Saturday\u2019s ballot box offered an opportunity for \u201cnational unity\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Kelly said he was on board the Now & Forever concept from the moment he was asked to join the line-up.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter<\/cite><\/p>\n Music legend Paul Kelly, who has been prominent in his advocacy for a Yes Vote since the early September release of a campaign song, If Not Now<\/em>, was another crowd favourite. Following a set of classic hits, that included 80s hit To Her Door<\/em> and late-90s Christmas ballad, How to Make Gravy<\/em>, Kelly told this masthead he was on board the Now & Forever concept from the moment he was asked to join the line-up.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Briggs asks you to do something you don\u2019t say \u2018no\u2019. We\u2019re all here for a really good cause, and it\u2019s great to see a great crowd here. I know there were a lot of Yes voters, but I hope there were a few undecideds that came on board after tonight too.\u201d<\/p>\n The event was organised on short notice by hometown star, hip hop artist and writer, Briggs, after he became frustrated with a shortage of vocal support for the Indigenous Voice from within the music entertainment industry. The rapper said he couldn\u2019t have hoped for a more successful turnout.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just showing everybody what community coming together looked like. It wasn\u2019t for me, it was for everybody here, and it showed what it could look like. I can\u2019t fault it. It was all about generosity, from the artists right through to the community. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The crowd at Now & Forever.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Other artists performing included locally produced talent Vince The Kid, Native Tongue singer Mo\u2019ju, and Gumbaynggir-Dunghutti soul-funk queen Emma Donovan, alongside the Black activist rap duo of A.B. Original, featuring Marlon Motlop and DJ Total Eclipse.<\/p>\n After popular Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods rounded out the event to wild applause and an explosion of fireworks and Koori flag-coloured streamers, vocalist Suffa (aka Matt Lambert) said he hadn\u2019t felt a more positive attitude from a festival crowd in years.<\/p>\n Lambert said it was an easy decision for the Adelaide group to join the Now & Forever line-up because a No vote \u201ccould set a mandate for any future government to set aside the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA Voice is not the endpoint. I think we all understand that it\u2019s a step in the journey, and I\u2019ll be voting Yes,\u201d Lambert said.<\/p>\n A strong contingent of the regional town\u2019s 2,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders attended the concert, with elders and youth heaping praise on the initiative ahead of referendum day.<\/p>\n Aunty Rochelle Patten, 75, from Moroopna was 19-years old and living in Robinvale in the far northwest of the state in 1967 for the referendum to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of Australia\u2019s population and to enable the Commonwealth to make laws for them.<\/p>\n Patten, who describes herself as a \u201cstrong Yes vote\u201d, said she recalled locals petitioning against a positive outcome for Aboriginal people at the time: \u201cThey didn\u2019t want to live near us or see us as equals, but it all worked out alright after that vote,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Patten said while there were many No supporters in Shepparton, the size of the crowd at the event suggested people could be brought together by a successful Yes vote at next week\u2019s referendum ballot.<\/p>\n Nathan Bourke, 18, from nearby Mooroopna, said he went to the concert to see Baarka perform and to \u201csee the mob come together\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the mob coming together is good. Voting Yes, to try to make a change, will bring people together too. It\u2019s been stressful, but I\u2019m trying to help out as much as I can. It\u2019s important for local mob. Respecting the culture, respecting the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Barkaa on stage in Shepparton.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Karen Weston, 37, from Shepparton described the concert as \u201ca very strong statement of support for a Yes vote\u201d from the local First Nations and non-indigenous community. \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing to see the whole community come together. This brings us closer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nSave articles for later<\/h3>\n
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