A slate of emerging and established Indigenous musicians will perform live this November in a deadly new event, as part of the annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

NAIDOC Week has been celebrated in some form in Australia since 1938, but due to the coronavirus pandemic it was shifted this year from its original July date to mid-November.

As part of NAIDOC Week 2020, a range of events celebrating Indigenous culture and achievements are available for you to sink your teeth into, including Kaurna art workshops.

Australia’s only national Aboriginal cultural institute, Tandanya will also host a new, free of First Nations live music event as part of NAIDOC celebrations, called TREATY.

“TREATY celebrates the best of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture through music,” Music SA’s First Nations industry development coordinator Letisha Ackland says in a statement.

“It’s a brand new event of its kind in South Australia”.

Held on Friday, 13 November, the lineup so far includes regional and local musicians such as BIGSOUND-billed Northern Territory rapper J MILLA, Adelaide hip-hop groups Sonz of Serpent and Dem Mob, indie-folk singer Tilly Tjala Thomas, rapper RKM, MRLN, and Katie Aspel.

Actor and activist Natasha Wanganeen and J MILLA will MC the event.

CityMag spoke to Letisha in August, following her appointment to the newly created Music SA position, and she said while it’s great to bill recognised musicians for live music gigs, supporting new artists is equally important.

“I think it’s great to just shed the light on that a bit more and say, there’s these other amazing artists that are doing these things, that aren’t just your established ones all the time,” Letisha said.

Tandanya CEO Dennis Stokes tells CityMag he’s excited to see live music coming back into the venue.

“We are always willing to support young emerging artists across all creative art forms,” he says.

This event will be held inside and is alcohol-free due to Tandanya’s COVID-19 management plan. It’s supported by Music SA, as part of their Umbrella Festival Presents: GO LIVE series, as well as Tandanya and Carclew.