Legendary singer-songwriter Archie Roach will return to Footscray next month to play a free concert during Footscray Community Arts Centre’s Wominjeka 2014.
The renowned teller of stories-in-music will perform highlights from his new retrospective collection Creation, which is a mix of songs from his first four albums, and songs not yet released.
Roach is widely regarded as one of Australia’s finest musicians, a storyteller whose songs have the power to transform and reach across generations.
After performing to packed crowds at the 2013 Melbourne Festival and NSW’s inaugural Boomerang Festival, Roach’s Wominjeka 2014 performance is a chance to experience these moving songs in a beautiful setting by the Maribyrnong River.
FCAC director Jade Lillie says the performance will mark Roach’s second appearance at the Wominjeka Festival. Last year, he sang with the Black Arm Band. “It’s an absolute honour to have Archie, one of Australia’s most influential songwriters, return to FCAC as part of Wominjeka 2014,” Lillie said.
Beginning as a one-day gathering in 2010, FCAC’s annual Wominjeka celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture has grown in popularity each year.
The festival will double as the launch of FCAC’s annual program and recognise the centre’s 40th birthday.
Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles said it was an honour to have such a renowned artist playing in Footscray.
“I encourage everyone to come down to the banks of the Maribyrnong River and enjoy what will be a wonderful concert.”
Roach will perform on the Riverside lawn at FCAC at 7pm on Saturday, January 18.
