REMOTE ABORIGINAL
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
RAADP Year 2
The Nannup Music Festival is excited to welcome the recipients of our Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program.
Bart Marr Band join us as our 2026 Mentee Band. The band was chosen by a First Nations-led steering committee and selected from a pool of 10 Remote Artists. They will travel to WA’ s South-West region to record new songs with award winning producer James Newhouse at Lamb Chop Studios over three days, before travelling to Nannup to perform alongside over 100 international, national and West Australian artists.
Bart has been playing guitar since he was 10 years old and has been influenced by his Father Victor and Uncle Danny who both played in legendary Kimberley band Fitzroy Xpress. Fitzroy Xpress was inducted into the WA Rock and Roll hall of Fame in 2020 and played a song at the awards night. Bart played lead on the night alongside his father and fellow Now or Never Boys band member Dwyane Shaw played bass. Now or Never Boys formed in 2003 when they were attending Fitzroy school together. They have since gone on to play throughout the Kimberly in Halls Creek, Kununurra, Broome, Wyndham and Derby. They have played Derby Moonrise Festival, NAIDOC celebrations and sports carnivals around the Fitzroy valley and toured as support for Fitzroy Xpress.
These remote artists will share the experience with a collection of Mentors, from across central Australia, The Kimberley Noongar Nations.
Our Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program, supported by the WA Government’s Contemporary Music Fund, through Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS) and is building on our continued support for remote community Aboriginal bands, musicians and culture in Western Australia.
We are excited to share the first single from Year 1 of our Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program. Kiwirrkurra Band who were selected from eleven worthy acts in early 2025, travelled to WA’ s South-West region in February this year to record new songs with award winning producer James Newhouse at Lamb Chop Studios. The first of these tracks ‘Bush Bus Song’ is now available on all platforms (you can also listen below).
The recordings and live performances were all under the close mentoring guidance of festival favourites, The Family Shoveller Band hailing from Bidyadanga Community in the west Kimberley. After their days in the studio, Kiwirrkurra Band performed three incredible sets to thousands of welcoming Nannup Music Festival attendees at the 2025 event. Kiwirrkurra Band, a multi-generational community band formed in the early 2010s and have performed with various members across WA’s north-west and at the 2014 Bush Bands Bash in Alice Springs. The band sing songs of love for their ngurra (home country) in Pintupi language and create an infectious blend of desert reggae and rock to get festival crowds up and dancing.
Nannup Music Festival is created on Noongar Boodjar lands where we pay respect to the Bibbulmun and Wardandi people.
For more information please contact Festival Director, Phaedra Watts.
The Nannup Music Festival announced a new pilot initiative in 2025, building on our continued support for remote community Aboriginal bands, musicians and culture in Western Australia.
Our Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program, supported by the West Australian Government’s Contemporary Music Fund, will offer a professional recording, product release and multi-year performance opportunity to remote Aboriginal community acts over two years.
One remote community band/artist per year (2025 & 2026) will be offered an all-expenses paid opportunity to record their songs over four days with award winning producer James Newhouse in the South-West region. Following their studio time, the artists will perform to thousands of fans at the Nannup Music Festival – alongside over 100 local, national and international acts.
In the year after the song recordings and NMF performances, the band/artists will work with student publicists to release their recorded songs to the public and thousands of NMF patrons. The band will then return to the festival to celebrate their release with new audiences, whilst mentoring the next band through the profile developing opportunity.
“I cannot wait to see what incredibly talented, remote Aboriginal music acts will be unearthed and supported by Nannup Music Festival’s Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program” – Minister David Templeman
Nannup Music Festival is on Nyoongar Boodja lands where we pay respect to the Bibbulmun and Wadandi People.
2025
The Nannup Music Festival was excited to welcome the recipients of our Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program.
Kiwirrkurra Band joined us as our 2025 Mentee band, hailing from the community of the same name (Kiwirrkurra) located more than 2600 kilometres from Nannup, in the far east of Western Australia’s Pilbara region. They formed in the early 2010s and have performed across WA’s north-west and at the 2014 Bush Bands Bash in Alice Springs. The band sing songs of love for their ngurra (home country) in Pintupi language and create an infectious blend of desert reggae and rock to get festival crowds up and dancing.
Kiwirrkurra Band who were selected from eleven worthy acts, traveled to the WA’ s South-West region to record new songs with award winning producer James Newhouse at Lamb Chop Studios over four days, before travelling to Nannup to perform alongside over 100 international, national and West Australian artists.
The band was mentored through this ten-day experience by Bidyadanga community and Nannup Music Festival favourites Family Shoveller Band, who have previously recorded with James Newhouse and had recently returned from performing in Europe and at the famous Bush Bands Bash in Alice Springs. Family Shoveller Band are proud Karajarri family band from Bidyadanga community in WA’s Kimberley region. They’re prolific songwriters having released three albums and multiple singles. The band have shared their and saltwater good times in song across the nation and in 2024 the band toured Europe for the first time.
Throughout 2025, the Kiwirrkurra Band’s freshly recorded songs will be released to Nannup Music Festival ticket holders, followers and the wider music industry sector. The band will then return to perform in Nannup at the 2026 festival and mentor the second recipient of the Remote Aboriginal Artist Development Program.
