Celebrate the best Aussie tunes with Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia

The multi-award-winning Aussie music celebration, Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia, returns to Perth after winning the Fringe World 2024 overall award for music and presenting an almost-sold-out 2025 season at the State Theatre Centre. A rockin’ celebration of Australia’s best musical artists and those that have created change through their music, Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia will be playing at The Courtyard at State Theatre Centre of WA from Thursday, January 22, to Saturday, January 24, with tickets on sale now. BEC WELDON sat down with show creators Michelle Pearson and Aaron Nash to talk all things Australian music and Fringe World!

Hi guys, welcome back! You’re bringing Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia to the festival after an award-winning 2024 Perth season! Tell us about the show!

MICHELLE: Down Under: The Songs that Shaped Australia is a celebration of Aussie music and the songs and artists that have had a lasting cultural impact in Australia over the last sixty years, whether that be as activists or as pioneers in the industry, or just through sheer popularity. It’s more than just a tribute show—sure, it’ll get you up and dancing, but hopefully you’ll also come away with a renewed appreciation of the meaning behind some of Australia’s most popular songs.

The global impact of Australian music often goes unrecognised and underappreciated! What inspired you to create a show about the musical contributions of our great southern land?

AARON: Michelle and I have always been lovers of Australian music. I recall one of our first conversations over a decade ago in which Michelle professed to me her love of Cold Chisel! We’ve often performed Aussie songs (particularly Cold Chisel) in our other shows, but creating this show was an opportunity for us to really lean into that shared passion and celebrate the music we love so much. I’m also personally a bit of a musicologist, and I love exploring the context around different songs and why certain songs resonate with us so much, so it’s been wonderful to see audiences particularly respond to that aspect of the show. 

What music or artists can audiences expect to hear during the show? Can you give us a sneak peek?

AARON: Well, it wouldn’t be a Michelle Pearson show without a bit of Cold Chisel! And of course, we can’t ignore the incredible impact of Midnight Oil and the various causes they advocated for through their music. Otherwise, the show covers a broad range of songs from the Easybeats, the first Aussie rock band to achieve international success, right through to the artists who were championed by Triple J and who soundtracked many a Hottest 100 BBQ.

Among so many exceptional Aussie contributions, how did you go about selecting the songs and artists?

AARON: Perhaps the most important thing for us in putting this show together was ensuring there was a strong narrative or framework for the songs so that this wouldn’t just be another tribute show. So the show is loosely organised around some key themes or chapters, if you will: Indigenous Australians and land rights, the evolution of the Australian music industry, a spotlight on some key women who’ve stood up against adversity, and of course, some damn good songwriters. Another factor was considering which songs would suit us or sound good in this context, but I think Michelle could sing the phone book, so fortunately that wasn’t too hard!

Was it a difficult process of killing your darlings, or did you always have certain songs in mind?

MICHELLE: Some songs certainly picked themselves, especially once we settled on the key pillars of the show. But there have been some difficult decisions along the way as we’ve refined and fine-tuned the show. The current iteration of the show is probably about 70% the same as when we started, but sometimes we had to say goodbye to a song we loved performing because another song came along that was a better fit for that particular moment in the show. Of course, we always wish we had more time to play all the great Aussie songs we love! 

What impact has Australian music had on you as a performer and artist?

AARON: I think Aussie music has a particular sound that is unlike any other in the world. You just know it when you hear it on the radio! I think everyone in the band has been shaped by Aussie music in one way or another. As a piano player myself, guys like Don Walker from Cold Chisel and Tim Freedman from The Whitlams have certainly been big influences on how I play. And I don’t think I’ve ever met a bigger Jimmy Barnes fan than Michelle!

You’re joined by a five-piece band; tell us about the team!

MICHELLE: Many of us all go back a long way with each other. I’ve been working with Aaron for over ten years, and he’s the MD on all of my shows. I worked with our guitarist, Luke Ciaramella, in my first cabaret show in 2013, and then we were joined by Michael Ciaramella on bass—yes, they’re brothers—and Sam Millar on drums, both of whom have worked with us on Comfort Food Cabaret since its inception about nine years ago and currently play in Skinny. And funnily enough, Aaron has played with Luke and Michael since school days! The final piece of the puzzle is Brendan Williams. Brendan is one of Aaron’s oldest friends, but more relevantly, he can sing and can play guitar and harmonica. He’s our magical all-rounder, and he completes the line-up. We don’t have a show without Brendan! We all have a really special bond in this band, and I think the joy we derive from each other’s company really shines through in the energy of the show.

Down Under was chosen to represent Australia at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before winning the House of Oz Purse Prize (2024). Congratulations! How did international audiences respond to the songs and themes of Australian national identity, compared to audiences in Perth and Adelaide?

MICHELLE: This is a great question and is something we were uncertain about at the time, but I’m happy to say we were a big hit with audiences in Edinburgh, and it was so wonderful to see our cultural identity reflected back at us through those audiences. It was also a great opportunity to lean into the narrative aspect of the show and provide a bit more context for things that people outside of Australia might not be aware of, for example, the significance of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations… or the call and response in a certain song by The Angels. There were certainly plenty of Aussie artists they were already familiar with, like INXS or Kylie Minogue—we had to throw in some Kylie for the UK!—but it was an unexpected pleasure to hear people say how much they loved that “last plane out of Sydney” song, since Cold Chisel never made it big outside Australia.

Thanks again for chatting with us! Let’s end with a final question—what song or artist best encapsulates for you the meaning of being ‘Australian’?

MICHELLE: No doubt it’s Bow River by Cold Chisel. This song has been my favourite song for as long as I can remember. It was the inspiration for quitting my corporate day job and pursuing my dream of singing and producing my own shows. It’s about running after what you want and being willing to put it all on the line. I also love how descriptive the song is—when I hear it or sing it, I feel like I am there!

AARON: For me, I think it’s probably Beds are Burning—an iconic song, a quintessentially Australian sound, and a vital message—or the entire body of work by the master, Paul Kelly. Brendan would probably say I Am Australian by the Seekers, and it’s pretty hard to argue with that as a statement of Australian identity.

Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia hits The Courtyard at State Theatre Centre of WA from Thursday, January 22 to Saturday, January 24, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au