Music and Tea with Echoes of Deadly Harmony

Felicity Woodhill, founder of Inspire Music Australia, introduces a special First Nations-led NAIDOC Week celebration

Published June 22, 2026

Everyone is invited to join us for Echoes of Deadly Harmony, a First Nations-led NAIDOC Week celebration on Thursday, July 2 at Wollongong Art Gallery.

Echoes of Deadly Harmony is an exciting musical program that foregrounds Aboriginal language, song, and story in honouring the 2026 NAIDOC theme “50 Years of Deadly”, presented by Koori vocalists and musicians Mudjingaal Yangamba and Nicole Smede.

We invited Mudjingaal Yangamba to introduce themselves and their program.

Stories revived through song

Mudjingaal Yangamba, meaning “Spirit Singing” in Dhurga, is a strong collective of Koori women dedicated to revitalising our ancestral languages and sharing our stories through song. We are a collective of Elders, Aunties, and sisters with strong ties to Yuin and Dharawal Country and community, coming together to heal, grow, and celebrate our cultural strength through music.

Since our formation in 2022, we have been honoured to perform alongside respected First Nations artists and at significant festivals and cultural events, weaving personal and collective story, culture and celebration through the music we write and share.

This special NAIDOC performance deeply resonates with our mission. By centering Aboriginal language, song, and story, Echoes of Deadly Harmony creates a vital space for cultural expression, pride, and intergenerational knowledge sharing.

We write and perform our songs in our group’s collective languages of Dhurga, Dharawal and Gathang, offering story and translations to engage all audiences meaningfully and foster reconciliation and understanding. This act of public language performance is a powerful form of cultural revitalisation, and resilience that strengthens identity and reinforces connection to Country.

We are honoured that young Yuin musician Jiah King will join us in this event with a solo performance on Yidaki (Didgeridoo), enriching the storytelling with diverse voices and traditions.

Together with Nicole Smede’s artistic leadership and a solo set of original vocal and poetic compositions, this event will foster a shared cultural space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities can come together in respect, learning, and celebration during NAIDOC Week.

We stand proud to be part of this inspiring initiative and look forward to contributing to a powerful and inclusive celebration of ‘50 Years of Deadly’.