as part of the 2025
Vinyl Stories 2026
an exploration of sound waves through story-telling and song
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Melanie Mununggurr is a Djapu mother, poet, storyteller and performer, and the Australian Poetry Slam Champion for her 2018 poem ‘I Run’.
Shalom Kaa is a performer, director, singer, and comedian with roots in a large Māori musical family.
John Rawnsley grew up and lived between the Centre and Top End of the Territory and will draw on these experiences with a vinyl set as DJ Spinaf-X.
Fri 24 July 2026 at 7:45 pm and Sat 25 July 2026 at 3:00 pm (one hour show)
@ Brown's Mart Theatre
Vinyl Stories explores the stories, interpretations and musical forces that shaped the lives of 3 people of the Territory.
Each performer will select songs on vinyl record that impacted them earlier in life and will share what this meant to them and their story. We will share a listening space with music from vinyl records.
The show is for people who appreciate music but also appreciate the deeper forces and interactions that voice, listening, hearing, living and being serves. It will be an appreciation of the connection between the sound waves that a particular song projects and the broader context and worlds we interact.
Immerse yourself in sensory experiences through story-telling and personal reflection; the sharing of an intimate space and to be present as we share in a collective appreciation and personal insight of a select curation of records.
Within each of us is a story and narrative that threads songs, time and space.
2025 THANK YOU
On 17 July 2025 I held my first Darwin Fringe Festival event and was overwhelmed with the response.
Over 60 people attended and we heard incredible stories and reflections from Melanie, Ryan, Emcille and Nigel (bio's below) of one song that impacted them when young and we shared a space of listening to their selected song on vinyl record.
For me, it was a joy to host an event that seeks to build community and a collective appreciation of story telling and listening in the physical form with sounds from vinyl records.
Based on the overwhelming appreciation and response, I intend to host more of these events on Larrakia country in the future.
Thank you:
Melanie, Ryan, Emcille, Nigel
Darwin Fringe Festival
Bustard Town
Everyone who came
~ John Rawnsley ~
presents as part of 2025
Vinyl Stories
an exploration of sound waves through story-telling and song
Meet the Panel
Vinyl Stories is a panel discussion exploring the stories, interpretations and musical forces that shaped
influential people of the Territory. Each panel member will choose one song that impacted them earlier in life. We will explore what this meant to them and their story and together share a space where their choice is played on vinyl record.
The show is for people who appreciate music but also appreciate the deeper forces and interactions that voice,
listening, hearing, living and being serves. It will be an appreciation of the connection between the sound waves
that a particular song projects and the broader context and worlds that we interact.
Immerse yourself in sensory experiences through story-telling and personal reflection; the sharing of an intimate
space and to be present as we share in a collective appreciation and personal insight of their chosen song on
vinyl record.
Within each panel member, and within all of us, is a story and narrative that threads songs, time and space.
Held on Thursday 17 July 2025 from 8.30 pm (one hour show)
@ Bustard Town, cnr Shadforth Lane & Nuttall Place