Beloved indigenous musician and storyteller Archie Roach will be gracing the stage at Griffith Regional Theatre on April 9, sharing stories and songs as part of his final NSW tour.
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The tour will coincide with the recent anthology album, showcasing his lengthy discography of songs and stories from 1989 to 2022. Of course, there's a few new songs in there as well.
"There's a song I wrote recently called 'One Song' about the belief that a lot of things were sung into existence, that's what the song is about. A lot of things were brought to life by singing and through song," Roach said.
"There's a few songs I haven't done much. They're mostly just reworkings of a lot of my old stuff."
COVID-19 put a stop to a lot of planned events, but Roach has kept himself busy with a wide variety of projects including the film "Wash My Soul in the River's Flow" and his "Kitchen Table Yarns" with up-and-coming artists.
The documentary chronicles the story behind the 2004 legendary 'Kura Tungar - Songs from the River' concert with Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach.
Roach was especially proud of his Kitchen Table Yarns series, in which he interviews Australian artists about their music and their own stories to share. The series is available on Archie Roach's youtube page.
While many artists have said that getting back into touring has been difficult, Roach found that he fell back into it like riding a bike.
"COVID knocked everything on the head, had to postpone a lot of stuff. I wasn't able to get out."
You're back to where you belong like a duck to water. You slip into the rhythm again quite easily."
"People have just been hanging out and are really looking forward to going out and listening to some live music again."
While this will be Archie Roach's final road tour, he says he's keen to continue doing shows for a while yet.
"I won't be going on the road anymore, but I'll still be playing around," he explained.
"There's still things I'm doing. The Kitchen Table Yarns, talking to up and coming singer-songwriters and rappers and talk about their music and lives. I'm going to be busy doing things like that, and hopefully a show here and there."
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The tour itself is a mammoth undertaking, particularly considering Roach is no longer flying. With the final shows taking place in Perth, it'll involve a massive road trip across the Nullarbor Plains.
Roach said he was looking forward to that especially.
"I've talked to people that have driven across the Nullarbor and they reckon it's pretty good. You find things to do, you stop here and there."
"I'd love to stop at the Great Australian Bight, I think the whales are only there in winter though."
"It'll be beautiful."
Archie Roach will be playing Griffith Regional Theatre on April 9 at 7:30pm. Tickets are available from the Griffith Regional Theatre website.
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