Western Sydney First Nations hip-hop festival Ngana Birrung will return for its second year next month, with JK-47 and A.GIRL leading the line-up.
Ngana Birrung will take place across three evenings in three different parts of Western Sydney. All three will be headlined by JK-47, with an event at Campbelltown Arts Centre on February 15 also featuring Keely, Prodikal-1, T Breezy and Walkerboy.
Another event, at Rosehill Bowling Club on February 17, will include DJ Kapital J and Keely, with more to be announced. This year’s Ngana Birrung will conclude the following evening at Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, where A.GIRL, Keely and Prodikal-1 are also on the bill.
Tickets for the Campbelltown and Penrith events will both be free, while tickets for the Rosehill event will be $5 including booking fee. Head here for more information and to acquire tickets.
Ngana Birrung – the Dharug word for ‘black stars’, pronounced Nin-Ghana Bir-Rung – is an initiative of the City of Parramatta Council “to elevate First Nations artists and bring together some of the best talent in the country”.
The first edition of the event took place last year as part of the Parramatta Nights program, with events in Blacktown and Bankstown following. Artists who have previously performed as part of Ngana Birrung include Briggs, Miiesha, DOBBY and Denni.
“We are so proud of our Ngana Birrung concert series and excited to see it expanded to reach more audiences across Western Sydney,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Donna Davis said in a statement. “It’s important we provide a platform to nurture, celebrate and highlight our incredibly talented First Nations artists.”
After releasing debut album ‘Made for This’ in 2020, the following year saw JK-47 cover 2Pac’s ‘Changes’ for triple j’s Like a Version, appear on Nerve’s track ‘One in a Million’, and perform on the Sydney Opera House forecourt for the Indigenous-led and culturally-diverse music showcase Barrabuwari. He was also a recipient of the 2021 Levi’s Music Prize, and dropped standalone single ‘Healing’.
Last year, JK-47 reappeared on Like a Version, joining Miiesha for a cover of Beyoncé‘s ‘Freedom’. He also shared a new single titled ‘At One (reVision)’ and detailed his second studio album, ‘Revision for Regrowth’. The album was initially due to be released last year, but was pushed back and is now set to arrive sometime in 2023.