Songs of the Bentley Blockade CD launch
Songs From The Bentley Blockade is an achievement of unified community spirit and tells the story of conscious activation of the people and the land through protection of our land and waters.
Songs From The Bentley Blockade features more than 20 songs by the community of artists who lived and sang at the Bentley protection camp, including Gently Bentley that was featured last week.
These songs were shared in the chilly, foggy mornings at Gate A and around the fire at the main camp and were recorded at various studios around the northern rivers.
Artists and producers all donated their time. Like Bentley, the creation of this CD is a testament to the strength of unified community.
The CD launches at Kulchajam in Byron on Friday with a 7pm start. The Bentley All Stars and the Bentley Choir will also be sharing the stage.
Here Comes the Sun: Welcome to the Solstice Festival
This Friday and Saturday sees Electric Forest present the 2014 summer solstice celebration at Kohinur Hall. Featuring: DJ Magu; DJ LeOch; DJ Limes; Short Circuit; DJ Kamos; DJ Jade Sebire, Chocolate Yoga Cacao Ceremony and Karyln Boyter’s Rebirthing breathwork.
Electric Forest events create a unique festival atmosphere where self-expression, freedom and personal journeys can meld into a positive life-affirming experience through dance within an immersive multimedia environment.
After many years of summer solstice parties, festivals and electronic music events in the hills of Byron Bay and surrounds, Electric Forest keeps the underground sound of Byron Bay well and truly alive, refuelling the passion for these memorable gatherings.
Kohinur Hall on Friday from 7pm and on Saturday from 3pm.
Mad Method
In Method with their open tuned and lap slide guitars twisting their way around evocative soundscapes and a rich tapestry of textured rhythms from the drum kit, Bill Jacobi and Frank Corby bridge the gap between Americana and the Celts, evoking the journey roots music has made across the Atlantic and Pacific to end up with a uniquely downunder sound.
With three critically acclaimed CDs to their name, hundreds of gigs under their belt and a career spanning more than 15 years, they have gouged a rootsy acoustic groove across the Australian musical landscape.
In Bill’s own words: ‘Method makes music that somehow manages to look back at a wealth of musical tradition, have a good poke around and then turn and run the other way.’
Method at The Beach Hotel on Thursday, Friday at Hotel Brunswick, Sheoak Shack in Fingal on Saturday and Sunday at Nimbin Hotel.
Gypsy Party
The ‘Zorba’ Gypsy Party is a becoming a tradition in the Byron Shire and usually taking place at Durrumbul Hall. This time The Zorba is coming to the Byron Bay Brewery.
A big night of dance to Gypsy music by ShakShuka with special international guests from the Uplift Festival.
ShakShuka was founded by Shai Shriki, Laura Target and Rachel Myra. ShakShuka plays music from the heart and around the world, both heartachingly beautiful and contagiously danceable. Up-tempo eastern European Gypsy melodies, Middle-Eastern, Spanish, Latin and original songs are played on guitar, oud, fiddle, hip-moving grooves, great vocal harmonies and a live bellydancer in a fusion of contemporary and traditional sounds.
Followed by DJ Chris Deckker (Medicin Drum), founder of Earthdance festival, producer of the Uplift Festival and more. Chris Deckker created and collected music of all kinds throughout the years and will be playing his high-energy dance Gypsy music set of traditional sounds fused with electronica.
Saturday at the Brewery from 8pm. $20/25.
Reincarnation of Raasa
Peter Davidian on sitar, and David Fernandez on tabla and bansuri, have a rare musical synergy. They will be performing an Indian classical music recital, on instruments dating back to the 12th century.
They will be accompanied by Neti Read on tamboura, ‘the sound of the universe’. They will serenade your hearts and minds with their incredible skills, sharpened from decades of devotion to Indian music.
At the Drill Hall Theatre, Mullumbimby, 4pm this Sunday.
Celebration of life
Eltara is a dear friend to many in this community and she has recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The community are putting on a FUN-raiser as a financial benefit for her.
Kicking off at 6pm on Friday at Durrumbul Hall with Luscious foods, chai and cake, and commencing at 7pm for a night to remember.
Murray Kyle, Deya Dova, Shai Shriki, Avishi, Amir, Darpan, Jarrah Tree and Lelama Sjamar will be gifting a night of absolute bliss with dance and song in a hall filled with beauty and divine sound.
Loveable Rogues
This Saturday night from 8pm the Mullum Ex-Services Club celebrates the festive season with the final showcase gig of the year with a double dose of blues, soul and roots music.
The night kicks off with Devil’s Kiosk featuring singer/harp-player Jamie Symons, who is the 2013/14 Höhner Golden Harmonica Championship winner. And that’s not all: The Rogue Gene featuring Belle Hendrik and Barry Milan with John Hill on keys will be playing songs from their latest release and their last two studio albums.
The band was nominated for a Chain award and their CD charted in the blues and roots top 20 this year.
Celebrating Christmas with Carols
As has been happening in Lismore for 30+ years, and in the best tradition of King’s College, Cambridge, St Andrew’s choir and St Carthage’s choir will combine in performances of Nine Lessons and Carols.
This year will also include a small brass ensemble. Christmas poetry, prose, and prayers round out the service.
The service, modelled on the traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols first held on Christmas Eve in 1918 at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England, has been described as one that ‘presents the Christmas story in an ambience of mystery, splendour, hope and joy’.
St Mary’s Anglican Church, Ballina, on Friday from 7.30pm and St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Lismore on Sunday from 7.30pm. Free.
DJ at the Helmy
Emerging from earlier years spent as a rock drummer and hand-percussion tutor, through to tour DJ for Triple J favourite, Illy, co-founder of Beats Working (Obese Records) and DJ for iconic Melbourne heavyweights, Helmy’s style of seamlessly mixing known classics and ‘must haves’ from all over the globe over the past 50 years coupled with tight and colourful arrays of scratching will have you assured that skilled vinyl DJs are alive and kicking – or scratching.
Playing strictly vinyl at the Brewery on Friday from 8pm.
Dress Retro for Bay FM
Bay FM 99.9 invites you to dress retro and celebrate all things Christmas on the dance floor at The Bangalow Bowling Club on Saturday when they take punters back to the 70s. Are you ready to do The Bus Stop?!
The party starts on The Magic Bus, picking up at 7, 8 and 9pm from Suffolk Park BP, Lilli Pilli (Roadhouse Cafe), Byron main bus stop and Sunrise BP and returning 11.30pm, 12.15am and 1am. Bangalow Bowlo becomes a Disco Inferno featuring seven hours of retro, disco, funk classics.
Six of the Shire’s finest retro DJs will be spinning the platters that matter. Pre-sale discotheque tickets ($18/15 Bay FM subscribers) and Magic Bus $9 return bookings essential. Available now. Please phone Bay FM 668 0799. Tix at door as well.
Ty one on
Ty Segall will undertake his biggest Australian tour to date this December – announcing Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Byron Bay and Brisbane headline dates atop an appearance in the ’Sup for Meredith Music Festival. I
t’s a run to match the garage prodigy’s extensive new double album Manipulator, released tomorrow on Spunk Records – all seventeen glorious songs of it.
Dealing in both quality and quantity, Ty Segall’s legacy owns eight studio albums and just as many genre-bending collaborations, while his cult live show has hit countless global stages from Coachella to Primavera and Bonnaroo.
Call it searing garage-punk or visceral hard rock; Nuggets-schooled psych or thrashing, straight-up rock’n’roll. At 27, he’s California’s guitar laureate – rarely short of a new record or riff.
Ty returns with a new galaxy of sounds and songs and plays the Hotel Great Northern on Saturday.
A Green Orkeztra
This Saturday, Lismore Orkeztra perform their debut concert at the Italo Cub in North Lismore, raising bucks for the northern rivers Greens.
Local musician, composer and music teacher Pietro Fine, who successfully established and directed the exhilarating Orkeztra Glasso Bashalde in Melbourne, is leading fellow musicians in a new Lismore-based ensemble Orkeztra Lizmore. They’ll present a program of Middle-Eastern, Klezmer, Balkan and Flamenco music and song. $10. From 3pm.
Going to Tijuana this New Years
Stop.
Look left.
Look right.
Look left again.
Oh, yeah, and then check out what’s behind.
Sometimes it’s good to know where you’ve been, where you’ve come from. And sometimes it’s good to go right back there.
Remember what that headspace was all about. And after ten years on the road, that’s just what Carey O’Sullivan and Paul George do with Tijuana Cartel. Catch them at the Brewery for New Years Eve.
Shermer at the Rails
Aussie expat Chris Shermer spends much of his time these days touring his special brand of percussive finger-style acoustic guitar playing across Europe. This southern summer he’s leaving his home base in Austria to bring his reggae-inspired folk and blues and virtuosic instrumental approach to venues up and down the east coast. He plays the Rails on Wednesday.
Launching Tess Latu
Local singer/songwriter
Tess Latu launches her new CD Stimulate My Mind on Thursday at Ginger Pig in Byron.
A collaboration with Dave Atkins from Hydro Funk Records (Resin Dogs) of dance tracks – clubby and hip-hop – Latu’s release for 2014 is pumpin’ hot.
Blessings
Honouring the new cycles of light of solstice and new moon, longtime local and international sound artists and New Earth ambassadors Lelama Sjamar, El’tara Mahatma and Focus Yidaki offer a Concert of Blessings this summer solstice.
Monday at 7.15pm at Prestons Lane (off Grays Lane), Tyagarah. Tickets $20 at www.lelama.com.au or at the door.
We Wish Uke a Happy Christmas
Miss Amber and Stukulele present the 2014 Christmas Uke-tacular from 6.30 at The Court House Hotel on Thursday. This year it’s a 50s rock ’n’ roll party with guest vocalist The Tinsel Tones (Miss Amber and Kathryn Jones) and Misty Henderson.
We’ll be jingle-bell rockin’ with Dave Sanders on drums and Rod Coe on bass with local favourite, guitar man Warren Earl. Bring your uke or just bring your smile. Make sure you bring the kids for photos with Santa.
Join the mailing list for the songbook at www.ukemullum.com. Entry still only $10; kids under 15 at $2.50.
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