Raise your voice at PubSing during Reconciliation Week

BUDDING singers and experienced vocalists will have the opportunity to join a unique informal choir during National Reconciliation Week.

Fittingly, the song of choice for PubSing at The Old Church on the Hill on Friday 29 May is Midnight Oil’s Beds are Burning, a 1987 protest anthem that focused on Indigenous land rights in Australia.

Hundreds of community choirs across Australia will also perform the enduring hit, which reached number one in New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, number six in Australia and number 17 in the US, as part of Reconciliation Australia’s annual national choirs project.

PubSing’s Marion Yates said prospective participants definitely don’t have to be pitch perfect vocalists.

“That’s the whole idea,” she said.

“I started PubSing because I wanted people to sing together without feeling self-conscious.

“You can’t really hear your own voice anyway – you’re just part of this huge singalong.”

She said throughout the evening people tend to loosen up.

“They might start shy or unsure but by the end of the night they’re belting it out, that’s my favourite part,” she said.

Yates stressed that the event will be a “really welcoming environment”.

“Lots of people come on their own too – you don’t need to bring a partner or a big group,” she said.

“Everyone’s doing the same thing together, it’s very accessible.”

PubSing Bendigo #3 – Beds are Burning takes place at The Old Church on the Hill, 36 Russell Street, Quarry Hill on Friday 29 May.

Tickets can be purchased at Trybooking.