RISING's Track Work event opened with a Welcome to Country honouring the Wurundjeri people, expressing hope and joy at the rising generations, and how music connects the world's oldest continuous culture.
Sensible J then took the stage, starting off with mellow beats eventually drawing the crowd back up from the station platform – did I mention this event took place at the new Anzac Station on St. Kilda Rd in Melbourne's CBD?! – to groove and dance along, with groups forming little dance battles in the crowd.After an incredible remix of 'I Shot The Sheriff', we welcomed Birdz to the stage, who paid his respects to the local people and Elders past, present and emerging, before immediately launching into his hit 'Aussie Aussie', which after a moment of surprise, the crowd embraced and returned his energy with a call and response, dancing and cheering – not bad for a dreary Sunday afternoon.
In the middle of the set, Birdz brought the mood back down with a song about the Black Lives Matter movement and its importance (a recurring theme throughout the day, and with good reason), the backing track interspersed with audio clips from news reports on police brutality towards people of colour.
Birdz - image © Connor Mackinnon
He closed out his set with a chant of Always Was, Always Will Be, before bringing his son onstage beaming with pride as the crowd returned the energy and love tenfold.
After a brief interlude with Sensible J once again providing the tunes, what a lovely team to fill the space between sets, we are introduced to Barkaa, a proud Malyangapa and Barkindji woman who performs to uplift the matriarchs of Aboriginal nations.
Her set opened with a brief instruction for those in the crowd who don't know how to use their middle finger (or index if you're underage, let's not be too rude) before a rousing number about Black Lives Matter, with an aggressive energy that stayed throughout her entire set.
Barkaa's daughter Alinta made an appearance for the next song, singing with her, providing softer tones to her mother's harsher voice; the crowd went wild with support every time the vocals switched to Alinta.
Barkaa - image © Connor Mackinnon
Barkaa's set was filled with songs teaching kids that no matter what, if they set their minds to it, they can achieve it, and every child in the audience went wild at every interaction; so many selfies were taken and videos recorded from the stage. She ended her set with one final duet with her daughter, tear-filled eyes and joy running through the crowd.
Finally the day closed out the set from Briggs, who both founded the label Bad Apples and helped put together this entire event.
His set started with an acknowledgement of country, then immediately into an MF Doom-inspired freestyle, hyping the crowd up with comments of all three previous performances, before launching into his own catalogue, a track about hometown pride, singing right into the heart of Naarm to the crowd's great joy.
Briggs - image © Connor Mackinnon
His third song was about growing into the best version of yourself, showing all your detractors how far you've come and showing your accomplishments.
- written by Connor Mackinnon
More photos from the concert.
