ILBIJERRI and the Butcher family will present the untold story of Warumpi Band, Australian music icons, from the perspective of the Butcher brothers at Sydney Festival 2024.
Warumpi Band holds the distinction of being the first rock 'n' roll band to sing in Aboriginal languages.
They have gained both national and international acclaim for their iconic songs, including "Jailanguru Pakurnu," "My Island Home," and "Blackfella/Whitefella".
This ambitious production offers hope and strength to Indigenous peoples and promotes unity among all Australians, addressing the realities of black and white relationships in a colonised world.
This timely production is expected to be a joyful celebration of music's potential to drive significant change.
'BIG NAME, NO BLANKETS' will make its premiere at the Sydney Festival on January 10, 2024, following a major festival tour that will take the show to capital cities across Australia.
Additionally, the production will also feature a free remote communities tour in the Northern Territory and tour prisons in Victoria and the Northern Territory.
"Big Name No Blankets is all based on the true stories of my fathers, who grew up at Papunya in the era of assimilation and went on to travel the nation and the world with their incredible songs that called for the coming together of all people," said BIG NAME, NO BLANKETS co-director, Anyupa Butcher.
Anyupa Butcher, a proud Warlpiri, Pitjantjatjara, and Luritja woman is a descendant of the Warumpi Band and the daughter of the Butcher brothers.
She is nominated as a custodian to collaborate with her father, Sammy Butcher, on 'BIG NAME NO BLANKETS' to ensure the preservation of the band's legacy for future generations.
"Warumpi uplifted the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's realities, and struggles but also our strengths, language and culture," Ms Butcher said.
"This show is vibrant, truthful, healing and filled with the music of Warumpi Band."
Yidinji woman Dr Rachael Maza AM, ILBIJERRI Artistic Director and Co-Director said "BIG NAME, NO BLANKETS asks us to consider how easy it should and can be to move forward as a nation that embraces and celebrates its First Peoples and their cultures, and in doing so, we are all enriched, but we can only do it together".
