Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Victor Dominello, who will speak at the event, said the NSW Government had provided funding for the festival through Aboriginal Affairs NSW, Arts NSW and Destination NSW, its tourism and major events agency.

“Yabun Festival celebrates the amazing culture and heritage of our nation’s First People which spans back 40,000 years,” Mr Dominello said.

“NSW is home to over one-third the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and I know that the longevity and popularity of this festival is a source of great pride to the community not just in NSW but across Australia.

“Yabun offers people from all walks of life the opportunity to experience the best of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, dance, music and food and features an engaging cultural program, including panel discussions and speeches from community leaders.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said the festival, now in its 13th year, was renowned for its ability to draw top Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians.

“Yabun has built a reputation for attracting some of the nation’s best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musical talent including Archie Roach, Dan Sultan and Jessica Mauboy.

“This year is no different and today’s line-up will feature folk singer Stephen Pigram, a member of the renowned seven-piece folk group ‘The Pigram Brothers’, as well as leading Australian hip-hop artist Jimblah,” Mr Grant said.

“It will be one of the highlights in an action-packed Australia Day with events across the State.”

Yabun 2015 will be held at Victoria Park, Camperdown and is organised by Koori Radio (93.7FM). It will be broadcast live from Sydney via the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) and National Indigenous Television (NITV).

Other performers include Mau Power, Benny Walker, Poetribe and Elaine Crombie. Yabun means ‘song with a beat’ in the Eora language.

Further information about Yabun 2015 is available at: http://www.sydney.com/events/yabun-festival.

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