Ngulmiya Nundhirribala
Indigenous musician and cultural leader Grant Ngulmiya Nundhirribala comes from the Arnhem Land coastal community of Numbulwar, on the Gulf of Carpentaria – about 55 kms west of Groote Eylandt, where his mother’s family was from. A traditional songman, as was his own father and grandfather, Ngulmiya has important regional responsibilities for ceremonies, and has played a central cultural role for many years. And for decades he’s also inspired Numbulwar’s next generation, leading both the community-based reggae band Yilila and the internationally-renowned cultural group Red Flag Dancers.
By Seth Jordan
What: Ngulmiya Nundhirribala
Where: Bellingen Memorial Hall
When: 20/09/2026, 4:00pm
But in recent years, Ngulmiya has also become a global ambassador for his music, language and culture, showcasing his own remarkable voice and songwriting around the world, and his self-titled 2022 debut album was hailed by the international UK-based World music magazine ‘Songlines’ as being “…the purest, strongest and most impressive Australian Indigenous voice that we’ve heard since Gurrumul”.
After performing and collaborating with musicians from Indonesia, India and Spain, Ngulmiya’s recent new album ‘Catalunya’ features his very talented son Nayurryurr on backing vocals and the celebrated Barcelona-based Spanish flamenco guitarist Pau Figueres. On current Australian tour, Ngulmiya is being joined by both Nayurryurr and Figueres, as well as his acoustic bass ukulele-playing manager Anthony Gray and Darwin-based guitarist Francis Diatschenko, who is of Argentinean-Ukrainian descent and has performed with both Yothu Yindi, Gurrumul. And in 2025, Ngulmiya was named as the Northern Territory’s Australian Of The Year.
“I first saw Pau play on the internet, and I liked how he performed,” says this 21st century songman. “So I asked my manager Tony to make contact with him online, and we sent him my music, and he loved it. He asked if we could come over to Spain to record together, so we did that and I’m really happy with the way we sound together, combining Aboriginal and Spanish music. We’ve also already recorded with some Indian and Indonesian musicians, and we’ll be releasing those albums one by one too.”
And as for his son’s abilities, Ngulmiya is justifiably proud. “Yeah, Nayurryurr is a very talented singer, and he’s a very good drummer and didge player too”, he explains. “He’s been part of Yilila and Red Flag Dancers for a long time, and I told him that if he concentrates, he can follow in his grandfathers’ and my way, and take over these roles. He can pass it on to his own three boys too, and his oldest twelve-year-old already plays didge well and his voice is coming up. Nayurryurr is also talking about maybe doing some remixes of his music in the future, working with good producers, and I think he’ll start taking the music into those new places.”
As he travels in both Australia and around the world, Ngulmiya also finds that he often needs to educate people about his culture. “When we’re out on tour, I always try to explain our history and talk it up. Some people know a bit about it and some don’t, so I explain where my music comes from and how it connects into another world. And I tell them about our long connection with the Macassan people of Indonesia, when they used to travel down to Arnhem Land, and how some of our people, including my grandfather actually travelled up there too. So I tell people about the past, and how it still influences our culture now.”
Ngulmiya and his friends will be performing at the Bellingen Memorial Hall on Sunday, September 20th at 4pm.
What Ngulmiya Nundhirribala Where Bellingen Memorial Hall When 20 September, 4pm Tix/Info events.humanitix.com/ngulmiya-with-special-guest-pau-figueres Or: www.bellingenmemorialhall.com.au
Photo: Anthony Gray
