After enjoying a free BBQ and set from local Yorta Yorta woman Madi Coleville-Walker, spend an hour with Aboriginal singer/songwriter Kutcha Edwards and find yourself not only enthralled by his music, dulcet tones and magnetic stage presence but also challenged with thought provoking stories and songs.
Kutcha Edwards did not choose to be a musician.
The gentle man mountain says the choice to pursue his Songline wasn’t even his.
“I think the music seeks you out,” Kutcha said.
He draws on a profound sense of all those who have gone before him on this land, along with his own life experiences, to help his audiences understand their own experiences, reconnect with their culture and promote cultural understanding.
He draws strength from his family, country and his inheritance of a culture that stretches back over thousands of years.
As he sings in ‘Colourblind’, the anthemic blues centrepiece of his latest album, Beneath the Surface: “Music’s not just what I do/For it is who I am.”
Born of the Mutti Mutti people, on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in NSW, Kutcha sees music as a responsibility he has been given by his ancestors – not only to entertain, but to educate. Or as he calls it, to “drop pebbles”.
“A lot of people think it’s about the performance, but for me it’s not just about that, it’s about dropping one extra pebble,” he said.
“My job is not to try to befriend an audience or a classroom or people that come in contact with me; my job is to drop a pebble in an imaginary pond and make that ripple. That’s my life’s work explained.”
And for anyone that comes to a Kutcha Edwards gig, I think they understand that. “I’m there to tell my truths and my family’s and my people’s truths of what has transpired on this country.”
Kutcha became a member of the Stolen Generation at just 18 months of age, when he and five of his 11 siblings were taken from his parents.
That’s why a Kutcha Edwards gig isn’t for the faint – or cold – of heart.
That’s why healing, culture and unity are recurring themes in Kutcha’s Songline, delivered in a style that traverses blues, gospel, rock and country.
Yet always at its core is that voice – deep, soulful and timeless, rising and falling with the breaths and dreaming of generations.
Music has been the path to healing for Kutcha for more than 25 years; from his beginnings with the bands Watbalimba and Blackfire, as a member of the Black Arm Band, and as a solo artist working with artists including Paul Kelly, Archie Roach, David Bridie, Renee Geyer and his dear friend, the late Paul Hester.
He has released four stunning albums to date: ‘Cooinda’ (2002), ‘Hope’ (2007), ‘Blak and Blu’ (2012) and his most recent, 2015’s ‘Beneath the Surface’.
The afternoon starts at 1pm and with the free BBQ and Madi’s set, followed by The Kutcha Edwards Hour at 3pm.
This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
The G.R.A.I.N. Store hope that people will come along to this family friendly afternoon of community, culture and connection.
Tickets are on sale now for $20 adults / $15 concession / $5 children 12-18 with under 12 free and are available online: https://www.trybooking.com/BBKZD, instore at the G.R.A.I.N. Store or at the Nathalia Post Office.
11°C