Jem Cassar-Daley Stuns At Quandamooka Music & Cultural Festival Return

Last month, it was announced that indie-pop singer Jem Cassar-Daley would headline the returning Quandamooka Music & Cultural Festival.

After the festival commenced with a Welcome To Country and traditional smoking ceremony yesterday (30 August), the audience heard opening speeches from QYAC Chairperson Cameron Costello and Redlands City Council Mayor Jos Mitchell. This year’s Quandamooka Music & Cultural Festival held a record-breaking 2,500 attendees, all keen to soak up live music and be immersed in the Quandamooka people’s culture.

Straddie Singers opened the music proceedings on North Stradbroke Island, followed by Getano Bann’s clear charismatic stage presence and heartfelt storytelling.

Then, the iconic First Nations singer-songwriter Joe Geia took to the stage, delivering powerful performances before Quandamooka rapper and poet Sachém left the crowd mesmerised and in the palm of his hands.

Sachém’s performance was followed by Kaylah Truth, who sang, danced, and commanded the stage. The night peaked with an impressive headlining performance from Jem Cassar-Daley, whose latest single, Big Container, left the audience in awe.

In addition to music, the Quandamooka event featured panels led by MC Wesley Enoch. Panellists included Darren Byrnes, Darryl Low Choy, Chris Matthews, Karen O’Brien (NSI Housing), and Cameron Costello. Together, the panellists discussed essential topics such as water use under Native Title, housing affordability, and the potential of modular housing solutions for the island’s community.

Today, the event has included Kunjiel (corroboree), featuring dance groups from across southeast Queensland and northern NSW. The tribal dancers—the Yullubaribah (Quandamooka), Ngarii Talga, Mununjali, Gubbi Gubbi, Goomeroi, and Butchulla—offered punters the opportunity to immerse themselves in First Nations culture.

Excitingly, Queensland’s Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch, joined Quandamooka Elders, leaders, and community members on Friday for a tour of the new Quandamooka Arts and Culture Centre (QUAMPI). The new venue will be completed this November and officially open in 2025.

QUAMPI arrives as a key deliverable of the Queensland Government’s Minjerribah Futures program and received funding from the Australian Government’s Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC).

2024 is shaping up to be the year of Jem Cassar-Daley, with the singer winning the Pop Song of the Year and Song of the Year for King Of Disappointment at the Queensland Music Awards in April. Those wins followed her New Talent of the Year win at the National Indigenous Music Awards in 2022.