BASSINTHEGRASS: Emerging NT acts J-MILLA, Elephant Town and Mr Chrisy Mertas make a splash

For this trio of emerging NT acts, BASSINTHEGRASS represents one of the biggest opportunities of their fledgling careers. Meet the artists you can expect to hear a lot more of in the coming years.

Mr Chrisy Mertas' Juran Adams at BASSINTHEGRASS 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

For Mr Chrisy Mertas, a four-piece surf punk band from Nhulunbuy, playing BASSINTHEGRASS is the logical next step in a career that has started to build momentum – but that doesn’t mean they have taken their early afternoon set for granted.

“That was hectic,” lead singer Matt ‘Aris’ McLean said, flopping into a bean bag alongside bandmates Ned O’Dell, Matt Gear and Juran Adams after their high-octane set.

“We feel absolutely ecstatic, we’ve always wanted to play BASSINTHEGRASS.”

Their set, played in front of a small but vocal crowd – the barrier was taken up by the Nhulunbuy crew, about eight of which had road-tripped 29 hours to see their friends – featured heavily with cuts from their debut album, Cookers Paradise, which has just been pressed on vinyl.

For Mr Chrisy Mertas, Cookers Paradise is not just an album name but a statement of love for Nhulunbuy, which is the ‘cookers paradise’ that inspires them.

Mr Chrisy Mertas' Matt 'Aris' McLean at BASSINTHEGRASS 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

“In Nhulunbuy people have a free range to create their own identities, because there is no pressure to conform to societal pressures,” McLean said.

For Adams, who lives in Darwin alongside Gear, Nhulunbuy can sometimes be “full on because it’s so remote,” but on the flip side, “there is solitude and it’s a really nice place to reconnect”.

“When I think of Nhulunbuy, it’s an escape from a hectic life,” she said.

Nhulunbuy pair Will Bridgfoot and John Stockman watching Mr Chrisy Mertas at BASSINTHEGRASS 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

The band said they are proud to be a part of a burgeoning Arnhem Land music scene, which features fellow BASSINTHEGRASS heavyweights King Stingray, as well as Yothu Yindi, Gurrumul and the Andrew Gurruwiwi Band.

“We feel a part of that scene and we welcome their success with open arms,” McLean said.

Another rising act making their BASSINTHEGRASS debut is hip hop producer J-MILLA, a Mak Mak Marranungu man who grew up in the Litchfield area and promises to be the biggest name in Indigenous hip hop since Baker Boy.

Fans watch Darwin-born rapper J-MILLA perform live in Wadeye on June 1, 2023 while the concert is streamed live on TikTok. Picture: Jason Walls

J-MILLA, who appeared alongside Xavier Rudd at BASSINTHEGRASS 2022 to sing their powerful song about Indigenous powerlessness and inner strength, Ball and Chain, said he is still “chasing that feeling” he had up on stage with Rudd.

“I have a feeling tonight might be the night I get it back,” he said.

J-MILLA said the mantle of role model to Indigenous youth sits lightly on his young shoulders.

“I’ll always be a voice for my mob,” he said.

“It’s a blessing being able to share my emotions.

“I think the importance of it is massive, for the non-Indigenous mob to get an understanding of the Indigenous people, it’s like an education.

Elephant Town's Charlie Dann at BASSINTHEGRASS 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

“If I’m going to be the voice that bridges the gap, then that’s what I want to do.”

For Elephant Town, the former Darwin Middle School band that’s gone through multiple line-ups and name changes (they were formerly known as Whispers), BASSINTHEGRASS afforded them the rock star treatment other acts slave their whole careers for.

“We got the whole professional experience,” bassist Charlie Dann, who is in year 11, said.

Lead singer Pedro Luiz said the band continues to morph and grow as the four-piece matures and discovers new musical interests.

Next stop on their career paths is to release more music – and try and bed down deeper into the Territory music scene.

“We’ll see if any other festivals want to call us up,” he said.

Originally published as BASSINTHEGRASS: Emerging NT acts J-MILLA, Elephant Town and Mr Chrisy Mertas make a splash