Skye and Sultan to join Midnight Oil in Geelong

Midnight Oil will bring songs from their mini-album The Makarrata Project to Geelong next month, and have just revealed that Dan Sultan and Alice Skye will be joining them.

Last week, Midnight Oil, Frontier Touring and Roundhouse Entertainment revealed a host of leading First Nations vocalists would join the band for all the dates on the Makarrata Live tour, including at Mount Duneed Estate.

Midnight Oil will also be joined onstage at all shows on the five-date tour by backing vocalist Liz Stringer and saxophonist Andy Bickers.

As well as appearing as part of the Oils’ set in Geelong on March 20, Dan Sultan and Alice Skye will perform special guest slots of their own.

Sydney bassist Adam Ventoura will play with Midnight Oil at all shows due to the sudden passing of long-time band member Bones Hillman late last year.

“It will be a moment heavy with emotion to go onstage without our long-time brother in music, but Bonesy always made it clear he wanted these gigs to go ahead without him so we know he will be with us in spirit,” Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett said.

“We’ve just started rehearsing with Adam, who, amazingly, has been living under our noses in Sydney.

“There’s something primal about his playing that caught our ears that makes the band sound great.”

Oils drummer Rob Hirst said the band was fortunate so many of the collaborators on the mini-album could join them onstage for these shows.

“We remain hopeful that one or two more of our friends might be able to jump up with us here and there as well,” Hirst said. “The message of these songs feel increasingly relevant as public awareness of The Uluru Statement continues to grow.

“It’s time for Australia to stop dragging the chain on this issue, and we call upon the government to begin the process of constitutional recognition for First Australians and to also heed their call for a Voice to the federal parliament.”

Raised between inner city Melbourne and the Northern territory town of Yuendumu, Dan Sultan began playing music at a young age.

Inspired by classic guitar rock and the tribal culture of his heritage, Sultan quickly proved himself an Australian favourite, winning multiple ARIA awards, playing the country’s largest music festivals and also appearing in films.

“The best thing about doing some shows with Midnight Oil is that I get to see them live so much in such a short space of time. Oils concentrated. Can’t wait,” he said.

Alice Skye is a Wergaia/Wemba Wemba person living and writing music in Naarm (Melbourne).

Since her first album, Friends with Feelings, she has signed with Indigenous-driven label Bad Apples. Skye’s coming sophomore album I Feel Better but I Don’t Feel Good was produced by Jen Cloher.

The COVIDSafe capacity has almost been reached for Mount Duneed Estate – last month’s Sounds Better Together concert was capped at 25 per cent of the venue, or 5,000 patrons – but organisers remain hopeful a limited number of extra tickets may also become available if Victoria’s COVID-19 protocols are eased.

For tickets, head to ticketmaster.com.au.