The first weekend of May has brought a jam-packed weekend of music to Nexus Arts as part of their Nexus Live program.

On Friday, 3 May, the Lazaro Numa Ensemble and Dadanii Okwabi and the Damushi Ensemble will take the stage as part of Nexus Live’s Interplay series, kicking off from 7:30pm.

Lazaro Numa

Lazaro Numa is a Cuban trumpet player with over 15 years’ experience performing internationally in national orchestras, Latin and jazz bands. Recently he has performed on the Havana meets Kingston tour (featuring Sly and Robbie & Barbarito Torres); toured with Elio Villafranca performing music from the Grammy-nominated album ‘Cinque’; toured Europe and Australia with the Afro Cuban All Stars; and recorded in Havana with Adam Hall and the Cuban Young Guns featuring original members of the Buena Vista Social Club. Lazaro will record his second album of original music in 2019.

Dadanii Okwabi

A musician since the age of eight, Dadanii Okwabi is a professional drummer, singer, dancer and teacher, well known in his native country of Ghana as well as in his new home of Australia. His Damushi Ensemble is a high energy international band who play traditional Ghanaian drumming rhythms and songs backed by Afro Latin/jazz musicians. The band’s glorious harmonies and impressive percussion, fronted by Dadanii’s powerful stage presence, have audiences grooving to the sounds of funk, highlife, Afrobeat, reggae and soukous.

The Black Orchid Stringband

On Saturday, 4 May, and kicking off at 7:30pm, comes Quiet Songs of Freedom – a performance from The Black Orchid Stringband and Dhungula Baarka, which honours the contemporary voices of Australia’s First Peoples.

The Black Orchid Stringband brings together West Papuan freedom fighters now living in Melbourne who sing to live and live to sing the songs of freedom. Featuring traditional bass, ukulele, tifa and beautiful three part vocal harmonies and with songs performed in West Papuan dialects as well as Tok Pisin (a PNG language), they sing of the struggle for freedom alongside traditional folklore and creation myths.

Dhungula Baarka

Nancy Bates and Allara Briggs Pattison are the collaborative duo ‘Dhungala Baarka – Two Rivers, One Song’.

Having met in 2016 while performing as band members for Archie Roach, they have fostered a unique musical relationship.

Dhungala Baarka presents some of the most exquisite and emotionally charged original songs in Australia today. Guitar, double bass, soulful vocals and gifted story-telling personifies this unique new duo.

Through the development of contemporary music by Australia’s ‘First Women’, Nancy and Allara are the continuation of ancient Songlines, connecting Yorta Yorta and Barkindji.