Gospel concert coming to old jail

THE sounds of Quincy Jones and The Caravans will sweep through Ulumbarra Theatre when Freedom Road hits the stage next month.

After almost a year of COVID-19 complications, The Boîte’s production, directed by former Bendigo local and singing instructor Stella Savy, tells the history of slavery and gospel music originating from Africa.

Savy said the show is a remake of the original project curated in 2011 by herself and Ballarat-based singer of the Sweet Monas Choir, Dani Fry.

“It was thought that wouldn’t it be great to do the show 10 years later in a regional centre,” she said.

“We decided Bendigo would be great, and there’s the irony of performing in the Ulumbarra, the old jail, singing Freedom Road.”

The show is made up of a choir of about 130 singers, most of whom are from Bendigo.

“I’ve been running singing workshops for a few years in Bendigo and there’s gorgeous voices and choir in Bendigo,” Savy said.

“We’ve got singers from Ballarat, Melbourne, Gippsland, Mallacoota; all over the state.”

Supporting artists include Geoffrey Williams and Sweet Monas Choir members Deb Clarke and Barry Kay with Carl Pannuzzo, Barry Deenick, and Tim Neal is also part of the band.

“It gives me the tingles they sound so good,” Savy said. “I can’t wait to hear the big band with the choir and everything, it’s going to be awesome.

“The story through the songs is phenomenal and there’ll be lots of things in there that people may know or they may not know, facts about slavery and the history of modern music.

“A lot of what we listen to now, R’n’B, soul, rap, it all stems from Africa and the slave trade.

“If you like that modern music, it’s a great way to be exposed to where we’ve come from musically.”

Freedom Road plays at the Ulumbarra Theatre on Sunday, 8 May at 2.30pm. For tickets head to bit.ly/3rmsuaV.