Saturday, November 17, 2012: a special day not only for the people of Perth, Australia, but also the animals. Angus Stone performed a one-of-a-kind event at the Perth Zoo, and with the magical atmosphere of the Perth zoo and the great music Gurrumul, the day sure was special.

It was almost sun down when the grass in front of the stage that was set up for the event was filled with people sitting and waiting; most were couples and families who prepared a nice picnic that suited the atmosphere.

The first line up was from Gurrumul. Gurrumul is an enigma in the Australian music industry. A musician born blind, this unique aboriginal man sings songs about identity, spirit and connection with the land, its elements and the ancestral beings he is related to. His high tenor voice and aura-like persona creates emotion, compassion and a feeling of peacefulness and longing with audiences in Australia and around the world.

Gurrumul started with a beautiful song for the sunset. He continued to surprise the audience one song after another, each with a different and a meaningful topic and lyrics, even though a majority of it was in an aboriginal language that most did not understand.

After almost an hour of Gurrumul performing, Angus Stone and his band members stepped onto the stage. Angus Stone is a 26-year-old singer and songwriter, born and raised along the coasts of Sydney where the beautiful beaches influenced his music. He played music since he was young, but was first discovered in 2006 along with his sibling sister Julia Stone. Both used to perform at open mic nights, where they used to do back up vocals for one another. When they started releasing albums, Angus and Julia tend to alternate tracks in the album, meaning if Angus plays the first song Julia will play the second.

It wasn’t for long till Angus and Julia each made their own solo albums in 2012 with an accompanying tour, which split the beauty of the siblings into two different halves.

During the concert, Angus played songs from his new album ‘Broken Brights’, which was very successful, and favorite tracks like “Bird on the Buffalo.”

Angus also performed a handful of his old songs as well, which sometimes feature him only on his guitars. His old songs are well known and liked by everyone, songs such “Big Jet Plane” from the album ‘Down the Way’.

What makes Angus Stone music special, especially on that night, is the purity of his songs and the special atmosphere they create, which gives the listener the same feeling the singer has. Most felt as if the animals at the zoo are listening and enjoying as well, especially because Angus dedicated one or two songs to the Animals.

Its the first year now where Angus has parted his older sister Julia to seek more in his music. One can only wonder if they will continue on different roads or that one day they will have a family reunion.

Image Courtesy : Angus and Julia Stone

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About the author

Abarai Mido
Music Engineer