It’s an artistic relationship characterised by a duty of care for country, honed through thousands of sun-beaten kilometres. On February 1, Indigenous singer-songwriter guitarists Ray Dimakarri Dixon and Stuart Joel Nuggett will be ending an eight-gig NSW/ACT tour of their original songs and stories with their first Blue Mountains appearance at our regional theatre in Springwood. After travelling from the NT by plane, from the remote Indigenous community of Marlinja, populated by fewer than 100 people, and Mparntwe (Alice Springs), respectively, Dixon and Nuggett have been supported on their tour by the Standing Strong band. The group are an organically assembled seven-piece of esteemed Blue Mountains musicians, with a shared CV that spans a plethora of local groups such as Sonori, Lime & Steel, Blue Cocoon and The Spooky Men’s Chorale. They will back Nuggett for the first of their two sets at the theatre, before backing Dixon.

The groups name is derived from the title of Dixon’s debut studio album, Standing Strong Mudburra Man, which was was recorded across one week in the basement of Building 6 at RMIT’s School of Design in Melbourne in 2019. It was nominated for National Indigenous Music Award’s (NIMA’s) Album of the Year in 2020. While being Dixon’s debut album, which he followed with his 2024 EP Shadow Water, he’s been involved in electric bands since the 80s, after he founded the Kulumindini Band in Nuggett’s hometown of Kulumindini (Elliot) – a remote Indigenous group singing songs in Nuggett’s language of Jingili, along with songs sung in Mudburra. It should be noted that Dimakarri is Dixon’s Mudburra name, while Kirriyangunji is Nuggett’s, in Jingili.

During the same year in which Dixon recorded his debut solo album, he was working as a vocal advocate against toxic fracking taking place on Mudburra land, while protesting the destructive forces of the outback mining industry in a hard-fought struggle on a ‘David vs Goliath’ scale. Nuggett is also passionate for the cause. With Dixon currently engaged in his eleventh year of campaigning against fracking, since 2014, this cause forms the thematic basis for his Nguku: Water Is Life tour. In the past, the Dixon family also protested the construction of an outback uranium mine, a type of threat that looms greater through mining settlements allowing for the import of alcohol into dry communities such as Marlinja. Dixon’s heritage and mission statement is succinctly summed up in the two English verses of his song ‘Guardian Of Country’ – the only song on his debut album to contain lyrics in English, despite all of them having English titles:

“When you walk down by the creek all alone, by yourself, you feel someone watching over you”.“I’m looking after this place, making sure it will always remain…all my children will do the same”.

One of the first Blue Mountains people to become involved in what would become the Standing Strong Band was their drummer, Ian Morrison. He’s also the owner of Katoomba Music, a beloved retail outlet and proud Blue Mountains Live sponsor. Morrison’s connection with Dixon was formed through a mention of the artist by way of Terry Morgan, a local music teacher and activist, who was involved in language preservation projects in the NT. After Morgan started frequenting Katoomba Music to pick up equipment for Dixon, Morrison and Dixon first spoke together, via phone in 2018, to discuss the serious matter of a guitar purchase. Ensuing phone conversations and the sending of guitar photos led to Dixon becoming the owner of a “flash, black Gretsch”, states Morrison, who was simultaneously learning about Dixon’s life in the process. As Morrison describes, “I learned he was a Mudburra man, which interested me…[it] interested me that little old Katoomba Music was talking to someone in the fairly remote Northern Territory, and that’s how it started.”

Now around the age mark of 60, Dixon’s musical career thus far also includes a rock group he performed in with his daughter Eleanor, called Rayella, who were formed in 2012 and gained international attention. This led to them landing an opening slot for the Violent Femmes in 2017 as an acoustic duo in Brisbane, and a live collaboration with Opera Australia at the Desert Harmony Festival in Warumungu country (Tenant Creek), NT.

Currently performing at the 53rd Tamworth Country Music Festival, Nuggett has been described as an up-and-comer worth watching. His debut solo album Ngaaya-Ma Jingila Baaya followed soon after his debut release of a self-titled EP and contained two tracks that were nominated for the NIMA’s in 2020, after he spent time as the frontman of NT rock group Storm Riders. His music also forms part of the Jingili Song Project, a cultural initiative supported by Darwin musician David Garnham and his backing band The Reasons To Live, who have recorded with Nuggett.

It’s clear to see that the combined performance of Ray Dimakarri Dixon, Stuart Joel Nuggett and the Standing Strong Band at the Blue Mountains Theatre on February 1 will be an important event to be a part of. The story is also the subject of an independent documentary that is currently being made, which will form part of the event’s audiovisual experience. As Morrison explains, “[the Dixon family] has a long history of of activists, fighting for keeping some of their culture alive and looking after country…it’s a problem to them in a way I don’t think we can fully understand, even if we share the same concerns”.

Saturday Feb 1st at 7:30 PM

Standing Strong Band with Ray Dimakarri Dixon – Nguku : Water Is Life tour

106 Macquarie Road, Springwood, NSW, Australia

Show tickets for the Standing Strong Band with Ray Dimakarri Dixon & Stuart Joel Nuggett – Nguku: Water Is Life tour: https://www.bluemountainstheatre.com.au/what-s-on/season-2025/standing-strong-band-with-ray-dimakarri-dixon/
The Standing Strong Band are Terry Morgan, Ian Neil Morrison, Skye Evans, Nic Danta, Chet Miller, Lulu Levins-Skehill and Maizy Coombes.

Buy Tickets here.

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