Blue Mountains Theatre secures funding for Wanderlust Concert Series

Blue Mountains City Council has announced the receipt of $37,869 in funding from Live Music Australia for the Blue Mountains Theatre to deliver an exciting new concert series and new speakers.

Over seven Friday nights in February and March 2021, the Wanderlust Concert Series will see a presentation of extraordinary concerts exploring ancient music traditions melded with contemporary influences from across the globe. 

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill notes “we are delighted to have been awarded this federal funding from the Office of Contemporary Music. It will be used to install state-of-the-art audio speakers in the theatre auditorium and to relaunch Blue Mountains Theatre in 2021.

“The Wanderlust Concert Series is a fantastic initiative from the team at Blue Mountains Theatre and they have done a great job in securing this funding for our community.

“In a year when travel has been out of reach of many, this concert series brings the world to the Blue Mountains through music. Music can evoke exotic places and past eras, and through these concerts our audience can experience the anticipation, adventure and wonder we find in travel.

Mayor Greenhill adds “The Blue Mountains Theatre was one of the first in our state to reopen following the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 and this series will further support the revitalisation of the live music industry in the region.”

This intrepid musical voyage includes modern-pop explorations of Indigenous identity; dynamic rhythms of Spanish Flamenco, Balkan Gypsy and Afro-Cuban Rumba; mystical sounds from ancient Malta; rockabilly Americana; and a mesmerising fusion of Persian jazz. The musical artists are culturally diverse Australians drawing from their backgrounds to create original compositions. The line-up features:

•    12th February – Leah Flanagan (contemporary pop/folk Indigenous singer-songwriter);

•    19th February – Caribé (Cuban dance/percussion/jazz/storytelling);

•    26th February – Skorba (Maltese-inspired original folk);

•    5th March – Rachael Brady & The Moonshine Special (rockabilly/country/blues Americana);

•    12th March – Lolo Lovina (Balkan Gypsy)

•    19th March – Bandaluzia Flamenco (contemporary Spanish flamenco);

•    26th March – Eishan Ensemble (Middle Eastern jazz fusion).

For more information and ticketing go to bluemountainstheatre.com.au.

Image: Contemporary pop/folk Indigenous singer-songwriter Leah Flanagan will kick off the Wanderlust Concert Series in February 2021 at Blue Mountains Theatre.