Bathurst Memorial Entertainment is set to host an event next Tuesday presenting an authentic narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia through song and story.
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Mission Songs Project, produced by Performing Lines and featuring Indigenous Australian musician Jessie Lloyd, features a trove of songs gathered from members of the Stolen Generations who were forcibly taken to live on missions and reserves across Australia.
Lloyd said the songs reveal near-forgotten stories that shed light onto an unexplored corner of Australian history expanding the Australian songbook in the process.
"The project started out of curiosity towards the songs our people were singing in the missions' era in the first half of the 20th Century; on settlements, reserves and missions; it's what they were singing after church that inspired me," Lloyd said.
"It painted a picture of those days no-one really talked about."
At BMEC, Lloyd will be joined by Indigenous musicians Shellie Morris and Mindy Kwanten, and supported by local choir Eclectica.
With laid-back humour and poignant storytelling, moving harmonies and historical insights, the trio bring to life the voices of Elders as they would around a campfire or kitchen table.
In developing the collection of songs for the project, Lloyd travelled extensively, visiting communities from Perth to Palm Island to hear their stories and learn these near-forgotten songs.
"It was a privilege for me to meet with community in Port Augusta who have direct ties to the Umeewarra Mission," Lloyd said of a recent research trip to South Australia.
"I love travelling and hearing people's yarns; it's a part of Australian history, a part of our modern Aboriginality."
The national and international tour of Mission Songs Project continues Performing Lines' proud tradition of supporting independent First Nations artists to fulfill their creative potential.
"Producer Emma Corrick and I first saw Jessie perform together. Once we'd both swallowed our emotion, we agreed that we had to work with her and support this important project," Performing Lines executive producer Marion Potts said.
Performing Lines patron, project advisor and Indigenous Australian musician Archie Roach said the project presents contemporary folk songs that continue the country's ancient song lines.
"The songs speak of the daily lives of the First Peoples who were relocated from their traditional homelands to the missions."
The performance will get under way next Tuesday from 7.30pm. For tickets, visit www.bmec.com.au.
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