King Stingray will take to the stage on Wednesday 9 July for Volume presents: Lightning song, a free, exceptional one-off evening celebrating cutting edge First Nations music. The band will perform their signature blend of upbeat rock’n’roll and the ancient tradition of manikay (song/songlines) that can be traced back tens of thousands of years.
King Stingray’s self-described ‘Yolŋu surf-rock’ has garnered multiple nominations and wins across the APRA Music Awards, National Indigenous Music Awards and ARIA Awards, including winning the 2022 ARIA Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award. The band are hot off the heels of a national tour earlier this year, performing their second studio album, For the Dreams (2024), which followed their recent 2024 tour of the United States.
Supporting King Stingray is Alice Skye, a multi-award winning Wergaia/Wemba Wemba musician unbound by any artistic parameter, whose body of work sparkles with harmonic sensitivity and maturity. Once-private bedroom scribbles are presented as articulate lyrics on love, loss, and life, offering a looking-glass into the world Skye finds herself in. New sonic explorations on her latest album bring grungier, heavier flavours to the sound, resulting in one entrancing groove after another.
Volume presents: Lighting song second support is singer-songwriter Keanu Nelson who hails from the remote community of Papunya in the Northern Territory. Nelson’s debut record Wilurarrakutu was released to critical acclaim in 2023, comprising poems written in his notebook, layered over minimal electronics and humid melodica dub. The songs on Wilurarrakutu tell stories of family, home and loss, sung in both English and Nelson’s mother tongue, Papunya Luritja.
Adding to the depth of the night will be the world premiere of a new music installation from iconic Australian singer-songwriter Kev Carmody. In the past two years, the Bundjalung/Lama Lama man has created some of his most ambitious music yet, culminating in the extended song CarnavonGirraweenBunyas. At over 30 minutes long, the composition features shifting moments and moods, taking listeners on an immersive journey through Country, led by one of our greatest living songwriters.
In addition to the electrifying performances of Volume presents: Lightning song, attendees that evening can participate in a free drop-in weaving workshop in the Yiribana Gallery, led by Ngiyampaa and Guringai weaver Tarni Eastwood while listening to the sounds of Yolŋu Radio, direct from Arnhem Land.
NAIDOC Week celebrations at the Art Gallery kick off on Sunday 6 July with Black Film Worker, a full day of screenings and talks celebrating First Nations women’s cinema from the 1970s and 1980s. This free program brings together films by groundbreaking directors including Essie Coffey, Oomera Edwards and Tracey Moffatt, along with filmmakers Andreea Kindyrd, Madeline McGrady and Erica Glynn who will be attending and speaking about their work. Screenings take place in the Domain Theatre, Naala Nura.
Ngugi woman Elisa Jane Carmichael, who belongs to the Quandamooka people, will present a weaving masterclass in the Naala Nura function space at 10:30am on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July, inspired by her contemporary weaving practice utilising found materials and vibrant colours.
Explore the latest instalment of the Art Gallery’s Contemporary Projects series, which highlights the work of artists from NSW. Wagga Wagga-based Gamilaaray artist Juanita McLauchlan presents yilaa minyaminyabal maaru-ma-lda-y (soon everything will be healing), a new body of work, which recognises the constellations above us, and the everyday pillars of family and community, as anchors we all have in common.
Volume presents: Lightning song takes place in Naala Badu at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 5pm on Wednesday 9 July 2025. Free, no bookings required.
MCA Australia
Tallawoladah, Gadigal Country
140 George Street
The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000
yilaa minyaminyabal maaru-ma-lda-y is open in Naala Badu from Saturday 5 July to Sunday 19 October 2025, with McLauchlan in conversation on opening weekend.
