A NEW month-long arts festival in Hamilton Hill is set to banish the winter blues.
Held in the historic Memorial Hall on Carrington Street, the debut Makuru Festival features an exciting mix of live music, theatre, film, visual arts and even “ambient yoga immersion”.
One of the festival highlights is the Bloodline Beats gig, featuring legendary musos Dave Brewer, Jim Fisher and saxophonist Bill Rogers, who co-founded the Zydecats and played on Cold Chisel’s hit Saturday Night.
A multi-instrumentalist and witty raconteur, Fisher has shared the stage with the likes of Paul Kelly and Tim Minchin, while guitarist/singer Brewer has played in several highly-regarded blues and soul groups including The Champions.
• Some of the great musicians performing in Bloodline Beats at The Makuru Festival. Photo by Tashi Hall
The trio will be joined on stage by talented family members and will take turns in the spotlight before joining the all-star back line.
“The biggest musical influences for most of us playing on the day are the blues, soul and country-rock styles, so all of the players have picked a wide range of favourites, with quite a few well known classics from Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, the Temptations, Tina Turner and Otis Redding,” Brewer says.
“There will also be quite a few original songs mixed in.
“I’ll be on vocals and guitar during the opening set and I’ll have my son Riley on drums and son Jesse on bass guitar.
“The other original songs to watch out for on the day, are the songs written by Bill Rogers daughter Billie, who’s a remarkable songwriter and singer.
“All-in-all it will be a cross-generational kaleidoscope!”
The festival also includes Voice of Country, a special night of First Nations country and roots music curated by local musician Helen Townsend.
It will feature singer-songwriter Lilly Gogos, JoKeria (Roebourne) and Bradley Hall (Pilbara).
If you like theatre, make sure you check out Wednesdays at the End of the World, an experimental mix of live music and theatre as WA artists explore thought-provoking and surprisingly optimistic end-of-the-world scenarios.
There’s also The Last Great Hunt, an epic one-man puppet show that deftly blends technology and humanity.
The festival has free documentary screenings including Genocide in the Wildflower State, and free creative sessions like Flowerpot Music, where you get to be a musician for the afternoon.
Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett says it was apt the festival was making its debut at Memorial Hall, which has a long association with the arts and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“The festival will also mark the announcement of the City’s inaugural Arts Hall of Fame inductees at a special ceremony to celebrate and recognise the outstanding contributions of Cockburn’s talented and hard-working arts community,” he says.
The Makuru Festival is on June 3 to July 8, with Bloodline Beats on Sunday June 22 from 2pm-5pm. For the full festival line-up and tickets see the City of Cockburn website – https://tinyurl.com/ys7w9kxc.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK