Midnight Oil Reveal Collaborators For Upcoming 'Makarrata Live' Tour

The First Nations collaborators set to help bring Midnight Oil’s Makarrata Live tour to life have been revealed, with a star-studded local line-up joining the music legends on stage throughout the run of shows.

Vocalists Dan Sultan, Alice Skye, Troy Cassar-Daley, Tasman Keith and Leah Flanagan will join the band for all dates, with backing vocalist Liz Stringer and saxophonist Andy Bickers also on the tour, while Coloured Stone’s legendary frontman Bunna Lawrie will feature at the WOMADelaide performance.

The tour is in celebration of the band’s latest album, The Makarrata Project, and its supporting shows will highlight The Uluru Statement From The Heart which "calls for a Makarrata – or 'truth telling' – to account for the theft of lands and displacement of First Nations people".

“We’re relieved and excited at the thought of finally playing music to live audiences again," said frontman Peter Garrett.

“Lots of the songs which have struck the deepest chords with our audiences over the years, like Beds Are Burning, Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers, The Dead Heart and Truganini, revolve around Indigenous issues so we’re definitely inspired to be playing a set that combines older songs like those with newer songs that share similar lyrical themes.”

The tour will be the first without bass player Bones Hillman, who passed away last November, with Midnight Oil announcing Sydney bassist Adam Ventoura will play these upcoming shows with them.

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“It will be a moment heavy with emotion to go onstage without our long-time brother in music, but Bonesy always made it clear he wanted these gigs to go ahead without him so we know he will be with us in spirit”, Garrett said.

“We’ve just started rehearsing with Adam, who, amazingly, has been living under our noses in Sydney. There’s something primal about his playing that caught our ears that makes the band sound great.”

For more details, see theGuide.