Come From Away close to the heart
Now showing at HOTA (Home of the Arts), Come From Away tells the remarkable true story of thousands of stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland, Canada, that welcomed them all.
Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.
Don’t miss this breathtaking new musical written by Tony® and Grammy nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and helmed by Tony® winning Best Director, Christopher Ashley with musical staging by Olivier Award winner Kelly Devine.
Come From Away opens on 7 July and runs until 31 July.
Visit hota.com.au.
Motown’s Shadows
Dancing in the Shadows of Motown are a ten piece powerhouse band featuring internationally renowned singers and musicians who faithfully recreate the dynamic live performances of The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Martha and The Vandellas, The Four Tops, Fontella Bass, The Jackson Five, Junior Walker and many more Motown Legends.
This amazing show presents classic hits including: ‘Reach Out’, ‘Stop in the Name of Love’, ‘Ain’t too Proud to Beg’, ‘Heatwave’, ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’, ‘Dancing in the Streets’, ‘Uptight’, ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’, ‘You Keep me Hanging on’, ‘What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?’, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘Standing on Shakey Ground’, ‘My Girl’ and many more magical Motown classics.
Featuring ARIA winner Patou Powell, Franchesca Appolis, Kimi Tupaea and Veena Rao, Dancing in the Shadows of Motown have been taking metropolitan and country audiences by storm since forming in 2017. This dynamic, all-singing, all-dancing band has performed sold out shows at many major venues including the iconic Sydney Opera House Studio and The Basement, to drop a couple of names, and this month they are going to Byron Theatre – don’t miss this awesome show.
29 July, Byron Theatre at 8pm
Tickets: byroncentre.com.au.
Remembering and Healing – going to war
Currently, Australia can be taken to war by the decision of one person: the prime minister. Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR) believe such a momentous decision needs to be more democratic.
Rob Baker from AWPR will be in conversation with Lismore’s ex-Mayor, Jenny Dowell OAM, to discuss who decides and who should decide when it comes to taking the country to war.
Rob Baker says that Australia has a defence force, the ADF. ‘The wars of the recent decades have not been wars that have been conducted in our defence, nor have they been successful in spreading freedom and democracy. They are wars that have been waged at great cost to our service men and women and their families and to Australia’s reputation. They are wars that have come at great cost to the citizens of the countries where we have intervened and often to their neighbours. There is no freedom to be found in the grave or a refugee camp or in mandatory detention or in the chaos of a failed state.’
North coast peace group, Remembering and Healing (RaH), are organising this event and are committed to do as much as possible to promote non-violence on all levels to prevent war. This public discussion is a small, but essential, step towards these goals.
Thursday 14 July, at 5.30pm in the Rochdale Theatre, Goonellebah (603 Ballina Rd). No bookings required; suggested donations $10. Event is followed by light refreshments.
For more info: Sabina 6688 6214.
Tijuana Cartel
Following a hugely popular set on the opening night of this year’s Bluesfest, and finishing off shows postponed by covid public health restrictions, Tijuana Cartel is back in Byron Bay for their first venue show in town in over three years. Celebrating a post-lockdown world, getting back on the road, and touring their latest album Acid Pony – this time, they’re putting on a huge show in Byron Bay with Moontide and Princess Behaviour.
Friday at The Northern from 8pm.
Lostboy at No Bones
From disco to the underground scene, Lostboy Ludo’s sound has been influenced by many genres over the 15+years that he has been behind the decks. From the early days of reggae and hip hop to the evolving sounds of disco, house, techno and world music.
Lostboy Ludo will feature in this week’s No Bones lineup from 5pm. Check out The Echo’s gig guide for what’s on at No Bones all week.
Bundjalung Minyungbal Art & Kultcha
The Merringingi Foundation and Full-On Theatre are hosting a three-day cultural event with language, musicians, dancers, fire, smoking ceremonies, yarning and sharing circles, jarjums (kids) sessions, weaving and an art exhibition.
This event is a fundraiser with donations going towards building a Bungalung Healing Centre, which will be a purpose-built cultural building to address trauma and mental health challenges in the community.
Crabbes Creek Hall, this Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am.
They’re a riot
Needing some sparkle this Saturday night? Then head on down to The Rails to see Glitterati Riot, they will take you on a roller coaster ride of dance hits, from B52s to Chic, KC and the Sunshine Band to Sneaky Sound System and beyond. The band is fronted by the fab vocals of not one, but two Sparkle Sisters, and a singing drummer to boot.
Show starts at 7pm at The Rails.
Rumour has it…
Back by popular demand, an act that goes beyond a band and a show that goes beyond a concept – Rumours: The Fleetwood Mac Experience.
See and experience Fleetwood Mac the way they really were – a sensational and enduring band of the ’70s and ’80s – revived by a talented group of musicians dedicated to the task of bringing this era, and the Fleetwood sound, to the stage again for all to enjoy.
Friday from 8pm at the Ballina RSL.
The waters are wide
Broadwaters is Matt Day and Jessie Rose, and as the name suggests, Broadwaters have a vast variety of styles and moods – nothing could be truer when it comes to this dynamic pair who create interesting combinations from multiple genres.
Don’t miss them when they hit the the stage this week on Thursday, 7.30pm at the Beach Hotel.
Barefoot basics
Bearfoot are in Bruns this weekend blending so-cal, hip hop and dub reggae, with a dash of the Endless Summer soundtrack thrown in. Sweat-drenched, high-energy performance and catchy melodies over deep grooves are their speciality. Bearfoot’s sun-soaked take on roots, reggae and dub has sent ripples throughout the country and beyond.
Bearfoot is a powerhouse sextet who mix sweet harmonies and rapid-fire vocals. With dubby guitars, bright horn lines that just won’t quit, bubbling keys and a solid rhythm section full of fat bass and steadfast drums with percussive flare – Bearfoot has a take on Australian roots/reggae music that is completely their own.
See Bearfoot, this Sunday from 4pm at the Hotel Brunswick.
The King of Rock and Roll
In 1997, Elvis Presley’s former manager, Colonel Tom Parker, is on his deathbed looking back on how he first met the future King of rock ‘n’ roll.
In the early days, Elvis had battled a poverty-ridden childhood with his parents Vernon and Gladys. He finds music to be a salvation, even though he is ridiculed by his peers because of his fascination with the African American music of Memphis’ Beale Street. Parker is a carnival ‘huckster’ who fancies himself a modern-day PT Barnum, playing upon the gullible nature of his audience.
Parker hears Presley on the radio, he seems to be impressed with what he hears and has aspirations of becoming his manager. Parker eventually meets and persuades Elvis to let him take control of his career, which begins a meteoric ascent
The rest, as they say, is history with Elvis doing a stint in the US Army, meeting the young Priscilla Beaulieu and resuming his career-making concert tours and films while Parker’s control of his life becomes even stronger.
Presley led an apparently unsatisfying life, seen in one of his final shows as a bloated, pale and unhappy man.
Elvis is screening at Ballina Fair Cinema this week.
He’s a god and he’s thunderous
With ten screenings daily, Palace Cinema Byron Bay are making sure everyone has the chance to see the latest instalment from the Marvel Studio universe, Thor: Love and Thunder.
A sequel to 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, this episode in the life of the God of Thunder, finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as he attempts to find inner peace, but, he must return to action and recruit Valkyrie, Korg, and Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster, to stop Gorr the God Butcher from eliminating all gods.
You can expect to see muscles and lightning.
Thor: Love and Thunder opens at Palace Byron Wednesday 6 July.
