NAIDOC originally stood for 'National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee' but has become the name of the week itself.

There is no better way to celebrate than by enjoying and sharing a mix of cultures through live music.

Yirrmal Marika, a young Yolngu man from the community of Yirrkala in North-East Arnhem Land and Aine Tyrrell, a very talented performer and the daughter of Irish music legend Sean Tyrrell took to the stage.

The evening began with 65 people enjoying an evening meal at Ararat Hotel’s Red Room, and the number increased as others filed in to watch the performances. 

In front of an audience of 106, Yirrmal showed great strength of character in performing as he was suffering badly with a sore throat. He told stories of his culture and his homeland in between playing the guitar and singing some of his clan's traditional songs and songs he had himself written.

The audience was captivated with his performance in particular a song titled 'Spirit of Place', a contemporary song Yirrmal had written with the encouragement from Goanna’s Shane Howard. 

Yirrmal is one of a group of young Yolngu men supported by Marrma' Rom - Two World Foundation.

This foundation is a leadership programme sharing the rich culture of language, ceremony and customs from North East Arnhem Land with the people of Geelong and surrounds.

They attend St Joseph's College and Yirrmal is the first student to graduate with a VCAL certificate in 2012.

After his performance in Ararat, Yirrmal headed for Warrnambool where he performed on Friday before returning to Darwin for two major weekend performances.

The second half of the night was spent being entertained by the lively Aine Tyrrell. 

Aine's music is very different from Yirrmal. She also played guitar and sang her own songs plus a couple of traditional Irish (Celtic) tunes.

Her performance went beyond her original time allocation as everyone was having such a good time. She persuaded the audience to support her by joining in on the chorus of a couple of songs.

Overall the Ararat Live group consider the night to have been a great success, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the entertainment and expression of understanding country.

The Ararat Rural City Active Banner was on display all evening, with reference to their support given during the introductions.

Ararat Live Incorporated took the opportunity to thank the Ararat Rural City Council for its support of live music entertainment in the Ararat region.

Ararat Live is a not-for-profit collective whose main objective is to support original music. An entry fee for those aged over 18 goes to the performers and in support of future events.