Gilimbaa: An Indigenous Creative Agency.

Kev Carmody in Concert

02.08.09

Brisbane's Riverstage was packed for a sold-out tribute to Indigenous music icon Kev Carmody performing on the 1st August.

As the sun set over the Kangaroo Point cliffs, a steadily growing crowd filled the Brisbane Riverstage to attend the sold-out tribute to Kev Carmody, 'Cannot Buy My Soul' on Saturday the 1st August.

The crowning jewel in the Queensland Music Festival, Cannot Buy My Soul The Songs of Kev Carmody' saw a line up of some of the best acts in Australia pay tribute to a living legend and Queensland great.

Aunty Valda Coolwell performed a Welcome to Country, in front of the audience, many of whom had donned bright red head bands, a well known Kev Carmody trade mark, to display their enthusiasm for the legendary singer songwriter.

The line up included Australian music icon and long time friend Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Dan Sultan, Missy Higgins, the Pigram Brothers, Tex Perkins, Troy Cassar-Daley, Sara Storer, John Butler and Indigenous hip hop outfit The Last Kinection among others.

The concert took the audience on a journey of recent history, both political and personal, incorporating archival footage from protest movements over the last forty years to accompany the messages in Carmody's songs.

Carmody addressed the crowd early on saying: "We're lucky to be here tonight, because years ago this would have been classified as an illegal assembly".

The concert celebrated Carmody's life as much as his music, as the two have often been intertwined, with Carmody using poetry and song to talk about aspects of his life and Aboriginal Australia.

It was testament to his impact and contribution that such a wide and varied audience gathered to celebrate this iconic Aboriginal musician.

Speaking to the crowd in his down to earth style about the tribute, Carmody said: "It makes you feel very humble and proud".

Paul Kelly describes Kev Carmody's body of work as one of our "great cultural treasures, incorporating oral history, the ongoing hurt of dispossession and the healing power of nature... influential and highly regarded in all corners of the country".

This was evident as many performers during the evening spoke about their involvement with the concert and album as the highlight of their musical careers.

A repertoire of Carmody's well known songs took on new life as they were performed by the artists, who added their own interpretation of his work, as well as Carmody performing his own work.

This varied from Sara Storer's version of Moonstruck, to Dan Sultan's high energy rocking rendition of 'This Land is Mine' to the haunting version of The Pigram Brothers performing 'Eulogy for a Black Man, accompanied by Kev himself.

Troy Cassar-Daley took to the stage to perform 'On the Wire', with back-up singers including Clare Bowditch, Missy Higgins, Laurel Edwards, and Sara Storer.

This led up to the greatly anticipated crowd favourite, 'From Little Things Big Things Grow', which sounded out across the venue.

The songs were as relevant on Saturday night as they were when they were first performed, showing Kev Carmody's enduring contribution to not only Australia's music scene but to the Indigenous rights movement.

The beauty of the concert was that such a broad spectrum of the community gathered to celebrate - the spirit, songs and story telling of Kev Carmody.

Click here to Koori Mail article.

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