Melbourne is in for a treat, as Afro Hub and Immigration Museum join forces to produce Blue Black Beatz, a one-day festival that will be featuring musicians from Melbourne’s African and First Nation communities.
This music combines a divine mix of hip hop, soul, Afrobeat, reggae and Gwara Gwara, all of which are embedded in the cultural lineage of Melbourne’s contemporary music community.
“Blue Black Beatz is showcasing the best of the new age Melbourne music,” says festival producer Saba Alemayoh. “It is a lot more concentrated on the rap, hip hop genres and also celebrating African-Australian musicians that live in Melbourne.”
The festival will be promoting a variety of acts, from well-established to emerging musicians. These include the Afro-funk group Cool Out Sun, dynamic R&B and electropop duo The Merindas, along with other contemporary acts such as Soju Gang, Ras Jahknow, Philly, DJ Malesh, Obsa and more.
“It’s been pretty exciting – we’ve booked some really interesting acts and up-and-coming ones, and also well-seasoned Melbourne musicians,” Alemayoh says. “Basically what we do is we program what we would like to have a look at or what we would like to listen to, and hope there’s enough people like us who enjoy the music that we do.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing Nardean, she’s an Egyptian community-based soul musician, I’m really excited to see her live.”
Blue Black Beatz celebrates first generation African-Australian artists who draw musical inspiration from their diverse backgrounds and cultures.
“Our music is not purely African and not purely Western sounds, but it’s a combination of those two things together,” Alemayoh says. “That’s what it sounds like – you can see where folks have blended in the culture but you can also see where they’ve given it a new home touch.
“The festival, just like last year, is really about the vibe as well. It’s not just about the music, it’s basically for everyone to get together and come through with really cool vibes and energy. The audience last year were very much like that, it’s an accessible festival in all elements, such as being culturally inviting and nice.
“We’ve got an African-inspired bar that will be running, and then we’ve got Jamaican food and also these puffnut donuts that will be running that day. We try really hard to make sure that we do have a place for everyone, of all orientations and all cultures.”
Alemayoh explains how the element of home touch is important in creating a diverse and inclusive festival.
“Sometimes I find that the festival scene can be quite cliquey and they don’t seem to have the home touch or love in it. I just feel like sometimes these things can be mechanical and lack soul, for lack of a better word.
“It can be exclusionary when it becomes an African festival, it’s very much paying tribute and homage to what was left behind, not taking into consideration what is currently being created on top of that, which is an important thing because that story gets left behind for a lot for people.
“Things are evolving and changing and people are creating variations on the music they heard and grew up with. We really want to make it open so it’s not just for African patrons, it’s not for a particular demographic, it’s not for the middle-aged; it’s something that everybody can get behind. It’s really about that vibe, the inner festival with other human beings and meeting new people there as well, really bringing that human touch. It’s more like a home.”
Blue Black Beatz comes to the Immigration Museum on Saturday November 30. Grab your tickets via Eventbrite.
