St Kilda Festival has historically been a Sunday-only affair featuring some of the biggest names in Australian music.
In 2024, Big Festival Sunday again features a superb bill of artists, including Mallrat, Bag Raiders, Budjerah, and Mark Seymour & The Undertow, RVG, Northeast Party House, Telenova, Gut Health, J-MILLA, Forest Claudette, and many more taking to stages right around St Kilda.
However, the newly introduced opening day of the event, First Peoples First, has become an integral part of the St Kilda Festival experience, elevating it to even greater heights. The Saturday is now a proud celebration of First Nations music and community, boasting an incredible lineup of artists, all ages activities, food and market stalls, and more from 10am to 9pm.
First Peoples First – 17 February, 10am – 9pm
An incredible line-up of First Nations artists will present a jam-packed day and night of music for First Peoples First. The Main Stage and the O’Donnell Gardens Stage will feature Mo’Ju, Birren, Charlie Needs Braces, Pirritu, The Merindas, Ziggy Ramo, and many more.
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Taking place on both the Main Stage and the O’Donnell Gardens Stage, First Peoples First will be headlined by the ARIA Award-nominated Mo’Ju, who brings their unique hard-hitting music to eager audiences. Described as a “musician, songwriter, storyteller and third culture kid (Filipino/Wiradjuri)”, Mo’Ju has been one of the driving forces in Australian music over the years, with latest album Oro, Plata, Mata going on to be deservedly nominated for the Australian Music Prize.
The lineup features a who’s-who of impressive First Nations talent, including the soft-spoken, hard-hitting Birren; the immersive compositions of Charlie Needs Braces; the gentle, intricate, and highly melodic Pirritu; the energetic pop and R&B of duo The Merindas; and the bold, uncompromising storytelling of Ziggy Ramo.
This year also sees the return of Singing Our Futures across both the Saturday and Sunday program. Supported by the Archie Roach Foundation, Singing Our Futures is a mentoring program that supports First Nations emerging artists on their songwriting and recording journeys. Previous years have seen these emerging artists receive mentoring from some of the most prominent names in First Nations music, including the likes of Dan Sultan, Emily Wurramurra, Emma Donovan, Dobby, Maylene Yinarr, Kee’ahn, Madi Colville Walker, and Ridzy Ray.
Previous artists who have been involved with the Singing Our Futures mentoring program have gone on to achieve big things in their own careers. This program is a wonderful opportunity and huge stepping stone for emerging artists to take in the pursuit of their own musical journeys, and the St Kilda Festival team is thrilled to be working in collaboration with the Archie Roach Foundation again in 2024.
The full program is available at stkildafestival.com.au
