Message Sticks brings the beat back to the Sydney Opera House with Wantok: Sing Sing from March 22nd

Featuring Frank Yamma, George Telek, Vika & Linda Bull and Ego Lemos with Musical Director David Bridie, Wantok: Sing Sing is one of the most dynamic shows in Sydney this year.

Wantok: SING SING is an epic journey that follows the songlines of the indigenous peoples of Oceania in an exuberant fusion of music and dance.

20 of the region’s most significant artists take to the stage in a powerful mix of drumming, choral vocals, sublime world grooves and Samoan street hip-hop.

From the glacial highlands of Papua New Guinea through the Torres Strait Islands and down into the vast deserts of Australia,  seven-time ARIA award-winning songwriter and composer David Bridie leads the internationallyacclaimed Wantok Musik Foundation, Sing Sing – meaning a large musical gathering; together they’ve been wowing audiences since the mid-1990s.

Sydney Opera House’s Head of Indigenous Programming, Rhoda Roberts (herself a member of the Bundjalung nation, Widjabul clan of Northern NSW and South East QLD) says, “For thousands of years Bennelong Point, site of Sydney Opera House, has been an Aboriginal gathering point – a place of corroborees, storytelling and ceremony… From first contact to contemporary culture, Message Sticks Festival covers a diverse program of amazing performances, exhibitions and events, many of them free – and all against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney Harbour.”

Most recently, Wantok was performed at the Opening of the London Olympic Games. A unique, state-of-the-art concert performance, it draws on an ancient heritage for a stunning celebration of dance and song.

“[The] aim is to engage you in conversation and raise our collective awareness”, Roberts continues. “We look forward to sharing with you the stories that have helped shape this ancient land.”

What: Wantok: Sing Sing (part of Message Sticks Festival)

When: 22 – 24 March

Where: Sydney Opera House

Info: Sydney Opera House website

Watch Rhoda Roberts’ introduction to the festival here: