Make a noise and make it clear: The moment Jimmy Barnes on the bagpipes lifted the crowd to its feet

A surprise appearance from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was well-received by the 8000-strong crowd at the pro-Voice Now & Forever concert in regional Victoria on Friday night, but it was rock icon Jimmy Barnes on the bagpipes that brought the people to their feet.

Barnes and daughter Mahalia enlivened concert-goers with hits from the former Cold Chisel frontman’s back catalogue before a rousing rendition of the iconic Australian anthem, You’re The Voice, had sections of the crowd dancing and singing along in full voice as the Glasgow-born Barnes belted a solo through the Scottish bagpipes.

The song was gifted to the Yes campaign by John Farnham, the Wheatley family and Sony Music in early September.

A line-up of Australian music royalty took to the single stage for the picnic event at Shepparton showgrounds from early Friday afternoon as ticket-holders streamed through the gates until well after dusk.

A large youth contingent flocked in under sunny conditions to catch Bad Apples Music hip-hop matriarch, Barkaa, and the “fresh prince” of Arnhem Land, Baker Boy, before the PM took to the stage alongside Yorta Yorta community leaders and elders.

The PM was warmly received and rallied the enthusiastic audience into repeated cheers of “Yes”, before saying the referendum was about recognising “the great privilege that non-Indigenous Australians have in sharing this continent of ours with the oldest continuous culture on earth”.

It was, he added, about “honouring the form of recognition that we have been graciously requested to give.

The PM told the crowd a successful Yes vote next Saturday offered an opportunity for national unity.Credit: Justin McManus

“A form of recognition that simply says, we want to be listened to so that we get better results so that we close the gap so that young Indigenous Australians have the same opportunities that non-indigenous Australians have.”

To a surge of applause, the PM added that a successful Yes vote at next Saturday’s ballot box offered an opportunity for “national unity”.

Paul Kelly – flanked by Indigenous rappers Baker Boy (left) and Briggs (right) – said he was on board the Now & Forever concept from the moment he was asked to join the line-up.Credit: Simon Schluter

Music legend Paul Kelly, who has been prominent in his advocacy for a Yes Vote since the early September release of a campaign song, If Not Now, was another crowd favourite. Following a set of classic hits that included To Her Door (1987) and beloved Christmas ballad How to Make Gravy (1996), Kelly told this masthead he was on board the Now & Forever concept from the moment he was asked to join the line-up.

“When Briggs asks you to do something you don’t say no. We’re all here for a really good cause, and it’s great to see a great crowd here. I know there were a lot of Yes voters, but I hope there were a few undecideds that came on board after tonight too.”

Rock icon Jimmy Barnes, on the bagpipes, brought the crowd to their feet.Credit: Justin McManus

The event was organised on short notice by hometown star, hip-hop artist and writer Briggs after he became frustrated by the shortage of vocal support for the Indigenous Voice in the music entertainment industry. The rapper said he couldn’t have hoped for a more successful turnout.

“It was just showing everybody what community coming together looked like. It wasn’t for me, it was for everybody here, and it showed what it could look like. I can’t fault it. It was all about generosity, from the artists right through to the community. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.

The crowd at Now & Forever.Credit: Justin McManus

Other artists performing included locally produced talent Vince The Kid, Native Tongue singer Mo’ju, and Gumbaynggir-Dunghutti soul-funk queen Emma Donovan, alongside the Black activist rap duo of A.B. Original, featuring Marlon Motlop and DJ Total Eclipse.

After popular Australian hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods rounded out the event to wild applause, an explosion of fireworks and Koori-flag-coloured streamers, vocalist Suffa (aka Matt Lambert) said he hadn’t felt a more positive attitude from a festival crowd in years.

Lambert said it was an easy decision for the Adelaide group to join the Now & Forever line-up because a No vote “could set a mandate for any future government to set aside the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities”.

“A Voice is not the endpoint. I think we all understand that it’s a step in the journey, and I’ll be voting Yes,” Lambert said.

A strong contingent of the regional town’s 2700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders attended the concert, with elders and youth heaping praise on the initiative ahead of referendum day.

Aunty Rochelle Patten, 75, from Moroopna, was 19 and living in Robinvale in the far north-west of the state in 1967 for the referendum to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of Australia’s population and to enable the Commonwealth to make laws for them.

Patten, who describes herself as a “strong Yes vote”, said she recalled locals petitioning against a positive outcome for Aboriginal people at the time: “They didn’t want to live near us or see us as equals, but it all worked out alright after that vote,” she said.

Patten said while there were many No supporters in Shepparton, the size of the crowd at the event suggested people could be brought together by a successful Yes vote at next week’s referendum ballot.

Nathan Bourke, 18, from nearby Mooroopna, said he went to the concert to see Barkaa perform and to “see the mob come together”.

“All the mob coming together is good. Voting Yes, to try to make a change, will bring people together too. It’s been stressful, but I’m trying to help out as much as I can. It’s important for local mob. Respecting the culture, respecting the people,” he said.

Barkaa on stage in Shepparton.Credit: Justin McManus

Karen Weston, 37, from Shepparton, described the concert as “a very strong statement of support for a Yes vote” from the local First Nations and non-indigenous community. “It’s just amazing to see the whole community come together. This brings us closer,” she said.

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