Just over a week out from the inaugural Boomerang Festival, Xavier Rudd has been added to the lineup.
The roots singer will join headliners Gurrumul Yunupingu, John Williamson and Archie Roach, as well as North East Arnhem Land Yolngu elder Dr Dijiniyini Gondarra OAM and journalist Jeff McMullen, both will discuss the issues of racism against Aboriginal people.
Boomerang will be held in Byron Bay over the long weekend next month with three full days of performances, workshops, dance participations, conversations as well as the launch of the Boomerang International Indigenous Film Festival (BIIFF) featuring shorts, documentaries and feature films including the award winning Reel Injun featuring Clint Eastwood and Adam Beach.
Festival Producer Peter Noble said: “Over the years we have listened and learned from Indigenous artists and heard their desires to have a specific world class event promoting some of the finest cultural keepers and performers around the globe.
The time is right for Boomerang. It’s a time to create a very specific vehicle for our own personal wishes and the nation’s desire for reconciliation.”
Earlier this year, Festival Curator and Director Rhoda Roberts was quoted saying: “It is a joy and incredibly humbling to have one of our most prestigious events, the Bluesfest open their arms and embrace Boomerang offering us a permanent home annually.” However the festival’s permanence is now in doubt, with lethargic ticket sales forcing Noble to contribute 1.2 million of his own cash to keep the event afloat.
The promoters are calling on Australians nation-wide to ensure the celebration of Indigenous culture isn’t a one-off event.
''One of the reasons I am doing this is that I fear if we continue along our current lines, in 30 years our language, our culture, our dance, our art will cease to exist,'' Roberts told the Sydney Morning Herald. ''There will only be remnants and that frightens me.
''If you truly believed in reconciliation you would buy a ticket […] This is what we should have been doing years ago.''
For more information and to book tickets, head to the event page.
Full program available at boomerangfestival.com.au
