There was a special gathering in the Queen’s Gardens on Friday, October 6.
Yorta Yorta artist Adam Briggs, who performs under the name Briggs, along with family and community members met at the William Cooper statue before the Now & Forever concert.
“I think it’s good to touch base before the big show tonight,” Briggs said.
He said the inspiration for Friday’s concert came from noticing a void.
“I couldn’t see one being organised,” he said.
“I thought ‘I reckon I could do that – I could pull something together’ and I reached out to the right people.”
He also highlighted that the concert was not about individuals.
“It’s about the collective,” he said.
“I think it’s just a great step in the right direction and to continue the work and the advocacy that a lot of great people are already doing.”
Having recently gained significant traction online with a video, aimed at clarifying misconceptions regarding the Voice, reaching 4.8 million views on Instagram, Briggs said he “wanted to dispel confusion (and) dispel misinformation”.
“You just want to cut through, simplify and get out of the mud of parliament and bureaucracy,” he said.
Briggs’s father, Senior Yorta Yorta Elder Paul Briggs spoke about the concert as well as the anticipation around the upcoming referendum on October 14.
“We’re very optimistic that the Yes vote will be decided,” he said.
“What we’re hearing here with the people that have come together around the William Cooper statue is the optimism that people have for the future, and the Voice sort of represents that, and so does the concert.”
Paul Briggs also said he was “really proud” of the Yorta Yorta people and all they had fought for over the past 150 years.
“There are a lot of amazing Yorta Yorta people like Adam that are out there trying to make a difference.
Despite this he was concerned about what would happen in the event the Yes vote doesn’t materialise.
“The 97 per cent of voters, which is the Australian non-Aboriginal community, that’s a point of reflection on their own integrity,” he said.
“If it’s a No, there’s going to be a lot of reflection afterwards as to what they’ve actually done.
“The statue where we are is part of that journey of advocacy and rights, and it’s the values and integrity of our mob and our family in particular, and Adam is expressing it in the way that he goes about his role.”
Briggs’s sister, Belinda Briggs, said that especially during these “uncertain times”, it was normal for people to be fearful and to ask questions, however, she said that it was important that these are done respectfully.
“I’m just really hopeful. It’s about coming together,” she said.
“Events like what Adam has created for us is an invitation for us all to come together in the spirit of what makes us all human and then find a way forward together.”