At a time when the world feels fraught with fear and violence, it’s a comfort to know there are people such as American world music collective, Nahko And Medicine For The People, spreading love through their music.
A self-prescribed “tribe” of musicians, Nahko And Medicine For The People are dedicated to bringing about social awareness through their songs, which discuss issues ranging from climate change to defending the rights of indigenous peoples around the world.
Nahko BearFrontman Nahko Bear is also involved with a number of charities and community initiatives and has been able to act as a vehicle of change through his own journey of self-discovery. “Being an Apache, Peurto Rican and Filipino man, I would say I relate to all [nationalities] in some format, but in saying that, I don’t lean on any one in particular,” he explains.
“On the cultural side, my mum is a Puerto Rican/ Native American and my dad is Filipino, so learning about these different places and peoples interests me a great deal,” he says. “Because of my involvement spending time with Native Americans, I’ve also been able to act as a spokesperson for that particular indigenous community, so that is something that I take quite a bit of pride in.”
Music is an important part of Nahko’s identity, who started playing the piano at the age of 6, directed musicals throughout his teen years and landed a gig in Alaska at 18 directing musical theatre.
It was the move to Hawaii in his early 20s, however, that truly laid the foundations for Nahko’s professional music career. “I started playing guitar after I moved to Hawaii and started writing songs, so it was a bit of a stomping ground for myself and my band mates,” Nahko says.
“It was pretty 'hodge-podge' for quite a few years because there wasn’t a lot of leadership and we didn’t really consider ourselves a band, we just booked shows at local cafes and bars now and then,” he says.
“It’s only in the last four, five years that things have kinda taken off and it’s been a pretty amazing experience, going from farming in Hawaii and casually playing music, to amping up touring and starting this whole movement.”
Their appearance at the 2014 Bluesfest and the support they received solidified the band’s global appeal. “We were totally taken by surprise by the Bluesfest; it was definitely a game changer for us and showed us just how much love we had in Australia.
“It was pretty trippy coming to Australia actually because I had this crazy dream on the plane about us having an emergency landing and then when I woke up, we were landing and everything felt so familiar,” he says.
“We spent a total of two months in Australia and I felt like I was home because there was just this very familiar vibe and that’s a really hard feeling to come by.”
Nahko and Medicine For The People will return to Bluesfest this year bringing with them their message of peace and love. “We are super stoked to be coming back to Australia for another appearance at Bluesfest,” Nahko says.
“There is just an overall excitement within the band at the moment as we’re working on our new record and will be debuting a couple of new songs during our [Australian] shows. We’re definitely excited to come back and bring a new, mature band that has been working so hard over the last year to bring some good vibes and messages to Australia.”
Nahko And Medicine For The People Tour Dates
Thu 24 Mar - Max Watts (Brisbane)25-26 Mar - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
Sun 27 Mar - Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Wed 30 Mar - The Metro Theatre (Sydney)
