Settle in for a soulful start to your music nights in Festival Park from Australia’s Queen of Soul Emma Donovan and Melbourne rhythm combo The Putbacks.

This dynamic collaboration was born of Emma and The Putbacks’ shared love for classic American soul and the protest music of Indigenous Australia. Shades of every soul record you ever liked sneaks through their music: Al Green’s Hi Records era? Check. Aretha’s Classic Atlantic recordings? Check. Stacks of Stax? Check. It’s all there, but there’s also a whole lot of Coloured Stone and Warumpi Band influences giving their songs a uniquely Australian slant.

Emma’s songwriting is optimistic, impassioned and bruisingly honest. The Putbacks are stone cold pros with a sound that is fluid and raw. Together they have won friends and admirers all over the world. And we can’t wait for them to get you up and moving as we open our music program at the INPEX Sunset Stage.