Lou Bennett (musician)

Lou Bennett AM is an Indigenous Australian musician, actor and academic researching Aboriginal languages and their retrieval.

For the American jazz organist, see Lou Bennett.
Lou Bennett
BornCindy Louise Bennett
Echuca, Victoria, Australia
GenresIndigenous Australian, blues, country
Occupation(s)musician, singer-songwriter, actor, writer, artistic director
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Associated actsTiddas

Early life

Bennett is a Yorta Yorta/Dja Dja Wurrung woman from Echuca, Victoria, Australia.[1][2]

Career

Bennett started her musical career with her uncle's band "The Shades", before later joining Richard Frankland's band "Djaambi", where she met Sally Dastey and Amy Saunders—Bennett, Dastey and Saunders later formed the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Award-winning band Tiddas.

After Tiddas disbanded in 2000, Bennett performed with a new band Sweet Cheeks and has worked as a stage actor—the latter has included an autobiographical show Show Us Your Tiddas!.[3] Show Us Your Tiddas! follows Bennett's life as she recounts a series of stories that include the occasion when she revealed her sexuality to her family, her first live performance, moving into an urban environment and her time with Tiddas.[4]

Bennett was a member of The Black Arm Band, a project that she was an artistic director, composer, vocal supervisor and performer for.[5] Bennett also contributed vocals to the 2012 Australian film The Sapphires, following her involvement with the 2004 Melbourne stage production.[5][6]

In October 2015 Bennett completed a PhD on Aboriginal language retrieval at RMIT University.[7]

Honours and recognition

In 2017, Bennett was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.[8] She was invited by the University of New England to give the 2018 Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture.[7]

Her "significant service to the performing arts, particularly to music, and to the Indigenous community" was recognised by the award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Australia Day Honours.[9]

Theatre projects
  • Magpie (2000) – Melbourne Workers Theatre
  • Conversations with the Dead (2001) – Ilbijerri Theatre, Playbox, La Mama
  • Yanagai! Yanagai! (2003) – Melbourne Workers Theatre, Playbox
  • The Sapphires (2004) – Melbourne Theatre Company
  • Show Us Your Tiddas! (2007) – Melbourne Workers Theatre
  • Our Home Our Land (2011) – Boites 2009 Millennium Chorus[5]

References
  1. Jo Roberts (15 May 2007). "Songline of singing sister act". The Age. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. "Scars" (Transcript). Message Stick. ABC. 26 September 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. Fiona Scott-Norman (18 May 2007). "Outside in, life of difference". The Age. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  4. Stephanie Glickman (20 May 2007). "Show us Ya Tiddas! | Melbourne Workers Theatre". Australian Stage. Australian Stage Online. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  5. "Executive". The Black Arm Band. The Black Arm Band. 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  6. Andrew Tijs (10 July 2012). "The Sapphires' Soundtrack Songs Announced". noise11. noise11. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. "2018 Dr Lou Bennett, Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture". University of New England. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  8. "Lou Bennett named in 2017 Victorian Honour Roll of Women". Bendigo Advertiser. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. "Dr Cindy Louise Bennett". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
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