RTRFM are having a huge birthday party to celebrate their 40th on Sunday, November 19 at Perth Concert Hall. The Big 40 will be a four stage party celebrating West Australian music.
In the main auditorium and verandah space, heavyweights from multiple genres will toast the station. Highlights include Abbe May performing with the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, Odette Mercy and Her Soul Atomics performing with a traditional Tongan choir, a gig by 90s darlings Adam Said Galore, hip hop trailblazers Downsyde reimagining their catalogue with strings and an exclusive performance of Red Jezebel’s (pictured) classic album Revelations. Plus, songs in Noongar language from Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse and a performance by WAM Hall of Famer Rick Steele.
Four supergroups of current WA buzz-acts will also be performing on the Verandah stage as the Slightly Odway Orchestra. This will see members of Childsaint, Rag n’ Bone, The Love Junkies, Grievous Bodily Calm, PUCK, The Chlorines, Kitchen People, Jacob Diamond, Bells Rapids, Carla Geneve and Dream Rimmy all put their spin on WA songs written in 2017.
There will also be a specially commissioned projection and live show to conclude the night. RTRFM – A Musical History combines audio, photos and video from the station’s archives with key songs from WA music history. A collaboration between Dr Adam Trainer (researcher), Davey Craddock (director), Steven Aaron Hughes (projections) and Timothy Nelson (musical director), this one off show will guide the audience through RTRFM’s history with the help of a line up of guest vocalists and musicians.
Throughout the night, DJs from some of RTRFM’s longest running specialist shows will be playing in a tunnel and wherever there’s room to dance throughout. TURA and Difficult Listening will also join forces for a stage that showcases the station’s more esoteric tastes.
RTRFM’s General Manager Stu MacLeod says, “Your 40th birthday is a time of your life when you think about the past and the future in equal measure. RTRFM’s The Big 40 not only represents the history of this incredible, amazing place, but also the future. It’s a way for us to showcase the last forty years and the next forty years at the same time, with the finest artists from our past and present, performing alongside each other and creating unique performances together that you simply will never find anywhere else. Party of the year!”
RTRFM’s The Big 40 takes place on Sunday, November 19 at Perth Concert Hall.
