Casey Donovan and Troy Cassar-Daley among Aussie stars to mark 10th anniversary of NITV at Uluru
From The Heart Of Our Nation, the historic gig at Uluru, boasted a powerful lineup of homegrown and Indigenous musical talent.
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The musical magic of First Nations artists conjured in the shadow of the sacred Uluṟu celebrated a significant milestone in Australian television broadcasting on Monday.
The From The Heart Of Our Nation concert marked the 10th anniversary of NITV as a free to air channel via the SBS network.
Yolngu surf rockers King Stingray, seemingly everyone in Australia’s favourite band right now, opened the show with their reimagining of the Men at Work anthem “Down Under” in language.
The ARIA Breakthrough award winners, founded by the sons of Yothu Yindi members, have enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two years.
Co-founder Roy Kellaway said they are “feeling the love” even as they find their overnight fame among Australian rock fans and Indigenous communities beyond their East Arnhem country “bizarre.”
“Even more recently, all of us in the band are getting pulled up in random places like Officeworks or Woolies with people asking ‘Are you in King Stingray?’ And that’s just bizarre...but it’s great.”
The musical bloodlines on the NITV10 stage showcased the family ties of Australia’s next generation of musical storytellers.
Christine Anu was joined by her daughter Zipporah for her medley of hits which finished with the unofficial Australian anthem “My Island Home”.
Troy Cassar-Daley also shared the stage with his indie pop daughter Jem for a moving performance of the ‘80s song “Brisbane Blacks” by Mop and the Dropouts.
The NITV10 celebration, like the recent First & Forever concert at Hanging Rock, curated a line-up which paid tribute to First Nations artist elders while amplifying the dynamic new crew whose genre-bending music veers from hip hop and R & B to rock and country.
Acclaimed rapper JK47 said the rise and rise of Indigenous artists in recent years is due to “the people who came before us and paved the way musically.”
“We get to live in the day they worked so hard to see. That’s why I am feeling so honoured because when you do your history and see what they had to do to get us here, you’ve got nothing but gratitude. It’s strides, it’s progress,” he said.
“As a kid I didn’t have that sense of belonging until I started talking about who I was and my culture. I wanted to be a rapper, this hip hop star, but I ended up being so much more than that. I ended up being a voice.”
After enduring the heatwave which has pushed the mercury above 40 at Uluṟu over the past week, the audience of 350 Aṉangu traditional land owners and their guests watched from patches of shade dotted around the site before the party vibes rose as the sun set.
The divine duo of Electric Fields, with singer Zaachariaha Fielding wearing a scene-stealing black and white tulle gown, continued the night’s playlist of bold interpretations of Australian classics with their version of “From Little Things Big Things Grow.”
King Stingray’s return to play hits including “Milkumana” with special guest Jem, from their self-titled debut album signalled it was dancing time.
In the spirit of collaboration, the concert fittingly wrapped with an all-star rendition of “Solid Rock” fronted by Goanna’s Shane Howard with Troy Cassar-Daley.
From The Heart Of Our Nation: A Celebration can be viewed via SBS On Demand from December 17.
CASEY DONOVAN REVEALS SECRET BATTLE
Casey Donovan is one of Australia’s queens of the big gig, owning every stage she takes from the annual New Year’s Eve concert to roles in musical theatre hits Chicago and 9 to 5.
Yet it is only in the last few years the gifted 34-year-old entertainer has felt unafraid to use her powerful voice to celebrate her indigenous heritage.
As the proud Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti woman joins a stellar cast of From the Heart of Our Nation, A Celebration to mark NITV’s 10th anniversary as a free-to-air channel on Monday, the bi-racial singer said she had always wrestled with the fear of being thought of as an impostor.
Her parents were separated when she was two and she didn’t have the opportunity to learn about her father Merv Donovan’s family.
When she was thrust into the public eye at 16 when she won Australian Idol, she struggled to answer questions about her Aboriginal heritage.
“I’ve always been proud of that heritage of mine (but) for a very long time of my life, I felt like that didn’t belong to me; it felt like it was something that could be taken away from me,” she said.
“There was family drama growing up and I wasn’t privileged to have that upbringing of knowing that community and that side of my family, and that was very heartbreaking and very hard because I felt like an impostor.
“I had this fear of someone coming up and telling me I can’t say who I am because I wasn’t educated enough about my culture to say I am a proud Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti woman.”
She said her journey of self-discovery to connect with her paternal indigenous roots in Gumbaynggirr country on the NSW mid-North Coast, as part of the SBS series Who Do You Think You Are in 2019, helped to “heal” her fears.
She credits meeting her relatives Trevor and Angela Ballangarry, and the ongoing mentorship of actor and arts leader Rhoda Roberts, for making her feel “accepted”.
“The beautiful Ballangarry family, who are my bloodline, told me I was accepted. That was a massive light bulb moment for me, that I can stand up and tell my truth and no one can take that away from me,” she said.
While Donovan’s post Idol years were rocky, her career has swung into high gear in the past five years since being crowned Queen of the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity.
She will share the From The Heart Of Our Nation concert stage with a stellar cast of artists including Troy Cassar-Daley, Christine Anu, King Stingray, Shane Howard and Miiesha on Monday.
“They’re all trailblazers, sharing First Nations culture and stories through music, it is literally in our bloodlines and I love that there are no barriers to that breaking through now,” she said.
She will premiere her infectious pop single Shake It – think Pharrell William’s Happy meets Mambo No. 5 – on the ABC’s New Year’s Eve concert and has been cast in the new musical & Juliet which premieres in Melbourne in March.
From the Heart of Our Nation, A Celebration, on December 12 at 7.30pm on NITV.
CASSAR-DALEY SHARES IMPORTANCE OF CONCERT
Troy Cassar-Daley and his emerging indie pop daughter were part of a historic line-up of First Nations artists.
“I’m doing it for my grandparents,” Troy said ahead of the concert.
“They couldn’t vote until 1967, they were hardworking people – my grandfather worked on the railway – and they bought their own house, they did everything they had to do but they never had a voice.
“We’ve had ancient songlines passed down through generations, and like Buddy Guy said, if it’s too risky to say, then maybe sing it.”
Jem, who released her debut EP this year, said she felt fortunate to hear artists of her generation sing in language or share culture through song as King Stingray and Baker Boy have done.
“Having a voice through creative expression wasn’t encouraged for previous generations so I understand I’m very fortunate to be able to share culture and stories through song.”
Troy said his passion for the Voice was galvanised by the stories passed down through his family which illustrated Australia’s troubled history with its First Nations people.
“This generation now, they’re not afraid to speak in lingo. It was only back in the 1950s and 60s that you had to have an exemption certificate to get to town from a local indigenous community,” he said.
“Part of that exemption certificate, which my great grandfather had, said you were not to mix with family or get involved in any cultural acts or talk in lingo.
“I realise I’m part of the middle generation who saw culture squashed through to the freedom of young artists now singing in language.”
Troy said he felt a shift in music’s power to help drive the historic Voice referendum at the recent ARIA Awards when Baker Boy made his acceptance speech in Yolngu language.
“Yes, there is momentum. Sitting at the ARIAs – I think I won my first one back in 1995 – and seeing Baker Boy get up and speak in language for his acceptance speech, I got quite emotional,” he said.
“I turned to Peter Garrett next to me and said I didn’t think we would have seen that 10 years ago. You could feel the shift in the room because he didn’t even need to explain what he said in English. As Peter said, ‘No subtitles necessary.’”
Cassar-Daley and Donovan were among the artists who helped usher in the new era of NITV when it joined the SBS network a decade ago.
He said the channel served both to entertain and educate Australians on First Nation culture and stories.
“The Australian Wars about the Frontier Wars here was next level, as was the First Australians; whether you are black or white, these shows should be watched by everyone,” he said.
Kathy McCabe was a guest of NITV.
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Originally published as Casey Donovan and Troy Cassar-Daley among Aussie stars to mark 10th anniversary of NITV at Uluru
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