Baker Boy Concert

The Baker Boy Concert: A Review by Eoin Hannan, Grade 6

On Thursday, the 9th of June, the grades 4, 5 and 6 went on an excursion to see a music festival, essentially including Baker Boy.

After leaving soon after snack had finished, we arrived at the venue at 12:30pm and were greeted with a warm welcome and the gift of hats, some of which were way too small for the wearer. We took our seats in the area and found that the seats were comfy and cushioned, but many, including myself, were confused on where Baker Boy was. All that we saw in front of us were dancers and DJ’s. We were later told that these were the warm up acts before the main event, like the trailers before a movie. But, even with the knowledge in mind, the DJ set and Vocal Ensemble went for slightly too long. However, many of my classmates agreed that the Vocal Ensemble, especially one of their members (Thando, a grand finalist of ‘The Voice’) were brilliant as they were able to improvise and figure out the rhythm of the song and play harmoniously. But one of the problems was that 50% of 6GB thought the music was way too loud. 

After the warm up, we were given an introduction to the hosts, then there was a Welcome to Country given by Wurundgeri Elder Mandy Nicholson, who also taught us a Willy Wagtail dance. After that we saw some break dancers from the company L2R, and while we were still waiting for Baker Boy, these dancers were INSANE. After seeing them do backflips for 10 minutes straight, we met up with our hosts again and then, after a long wait, Baker Boy was finally on the stage. Let me give a bit of background information: Baker Boy is the young Australian of the year, a Yolngu man from Arnhem Land, and a rapper who raps in his own language, Yolnu Matha most of the time. So, as we sat back in our soft chairs, we watched as the lights changed colour and flashed across the room. Maybe a bit to brightly though, as around half the class thought the lights were too bright. But, Baker Boy didn’t let that ruin the show as he rapped at the speed of light and gave high fives to the front row. As we clapped and cheered, we watched as he performed a variety of songs like Marryuna and many others. As he rapped and played Didgeridoo, many were distracted by the energetic dancers and guitarists playing music behind him. 

When the performance finished, since most of us had not eaten lunch, we were all given small snack boxes with a Mars Bar, Popcorn, an Orange and Poppy seed muffin and a juice box. Many appreciated the gift, and by the time we were back at school it was 3:00pm. Overall, it was a great performance, not to be ruined by the noise and lights and Baker Boy did not disappoint the crowd. 

By Eoin Hannan, Grade 6