Entertainment
10 August, 2025
Town’s musical journey
YARRABAH is throwing open its doors this August, inviting locals and visitors alike to celebrate culture, music and community at the renewed Yarrabah Music and Culture Festival.
Less than an hour from Cairns by road or boat, the vibrant coastal community will host the free festival on Saturday, August 30, at Bishop Malcolm Park.
Spectators will experience a powerful day of live music, traditional dance, food, art and celebration.
Nestled between the rainforest-cloaked mountains and the Coral Sea, Yarrabah is home to the Gunggandji and Yidinji peoples and is Australia’s largest discrete Indigenous community.
Now in its 12th year, the festival has taken an exciting new direction, with the community assuming full ownership following a decade-long partnership with Queensland Music Festival.
“We thank the QMF for being part of this journey with us, but now it’s time for us to take full community ownership and control,” said Yarrabah Mayor Daryl Sexton.
“I’m so proud of my community and I invite you to join us to celebrate and share culture.”
Until the 1950s, Yarrabah was home to one of the best brass bands in Queensland.
After years of silence, the Yarrabah Music and Culture Festival was launched in 2013 to bring the band back together.
While the brass band remains at its heart, the festival has grown into a dynamic community celebration of art, dance, music, history and culture, supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
Run by the community for the community, the festival now aims to spotlight Far North Queensland’s First Nations talent while fostering employment, mentoring and training opportunities to build a sustainable local workforce.
“The festival aims to empower musicians and performers from the Yarrabah community by offering pathways to motivate our people to achieve their aspirations,” Cr Sexton said.
Festivalgoers can look forward to performances from headline act Black Image, along with cultural dancing, an arts and craft market, food vans and evening light projections.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/44IITZV
