Spinifex Gum featuring Marliya

Celebrate the passion and talent of our youth with Spinifex Gum.

Spinifex Gum combines the beauty of a choir of young Indigenous female singers from Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait with contemporary songwriting that speaks to issues of our time.

Disarming and uplifting audiences across Australia, Spinifex Gum brings together the sound of the Marliya choir led by Lyn Williams AM, with the music of Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill (The Cat Empire) and choreography by Deborah Brown.

In this breathtaking concert, their unique blend of choral music and contemporary song combine with dance in a performance like you’ve never seen before.

Commissioned to write a song cycle for the choir, Felix Riebl spent several years visiting the Pilbara to build relationships and gather stories. He and co-creator Ollie McGill went on to write the album Spinifex Gum about the region’s local tales and characters, true stories of racism and injustice, and the legacies of colonisation with music production that’s staunchly modern, built from found sound samples of the Pilbara – rustling leaves, bouncing basketballs and chugging trains.

Marliya’s lush choral vocals are performed with exuberant energy, blended with hard-hitting urban rhythms and uncompromising lyrics for a fresh sound that is built from the ancient culture of the Pilbara but is totally the music of today.

High energy, high impact, and hauntingly beautiful, this fearless music lays bare the injustices faced by Indigenous Australians and shines a light on the strength of those who fight for their community.

Nominated for Best New Australian Work at the 2019 Helpmann Awards®, it has the power to disarm, inspire, and speak to us in a way that no individual voice can.

You’ll leave this gig feeling inspired and hopeful for the future.