WOMEN OF SONG is an innovative new show, developed by the acclaimed Jessie Lloyd (of Mission Songs Project) including themes of intergenerational practices, singing on and from country, commitment to community, and preserving knowledge in song. It’s an intimate celebration of the ‘here and now’ of Indigenous culture, a rare mix of spontaneous conversation and songs, exploring the modern-day practice and living heart of the world’s oldest living culture.

The audience listens in as three First Nations singers have a conversation. Someone’s story may remind someone else of a song, or a favourite popular song might start a discussion among them all. Each conversation and each performance will be unique, as the women explore live on stage how their songs preserve the social, cultural, or environmental shifts of a community, and deepen connections to country, genealogy, and custom.

As creative producer, Jessie Lloyd brings together the artists for each tour, uniquely shaping the performance to the location: some will be well-known, others are exciting new talent. Preparation includes extensive cultural consultation undertaken by Jessie across 2022. Women of Song is an amazing opportunity to experience First Nations cultural practices in music from the women that practise them: this culture exists in contemporary music, and these First Nations women are leading it.

JESSIE LLOYD, CREATIVE PRODUCER

A composer, performer and creative entrepreneur, Jessie Lloyd is a songkeeper of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and is dedicated to the continuation of song traditions through the presentation of stories and songs.

Jessie’s work continues the songlines of Indigenous Australia, a body of cultural songs that carries the 60,000-year history of the world’s oldest living culture. With this connection she engages her audiences through intimate storytelling, moving harmonies and historical insights. Jessie has travelled Australia consulting with elders, collaborating with peers and nurturing Indigenous songs that reflect present a 21st- century Indigenous narrative.

Hailing from a musical family, Jessie’s father Joe Geia is a pioneer of Aboriginal protest songs and composed the Aboriginal anthem ‘Yil Lull’. Her grandfather Albie Geia was conductor of the Palm Island Brass Band and leader of the historic 1957 Palm Island Strike.