Posted: March 24th, 2025
The Joondalup Festival is bringing stories and sounds from the Pilbara to Perth through Tjaabi – Flood Country, a celebration of Country and culture through immersive theatre, music, spoken word, and animation. With performances at Padbury Hall this Friday, 28 and Saturday, 29 March, get your tickets ($11-$19) via the Joondalup Festival website.
A tjaabi is a form of song unique to the Pilbara region, capturing stories, dreams, thoughts, and moments. Each song is sung by a particular person and relevant to a particular place, handed down through the generations.
Led by Ngarluma man Patrick Churnside, Tjaabi – Flood Country explores the many cultural and ecological pressures facing Aboriginal people in the Pilbara. A gifted storyteller, Patrick shares his life story through music, narrative, and humour. He grew up with the tjaabi song tradition; his grandfather Bob Churnside one of the West Pilbara’s most renowned singers. In Tjaabi – Flood Country, Patrick shares his own story of growing up the Pilbara, the lineage of cultural knowledge, contemporary relevance of Indigenous ecologies, working on Country, and the power of Ngarluma language.
“Tjaabi has become one of my passions and life’s work,” Patrick said. “I pour my heart into it, researching, learning and performing. Through my commitment to awakening and sharing tjaabi in this innovative intercultural project, I hope understanding and reconciliation will grow, greater awareness of country and stronger song, story and culture.”
For those in other parts of the state, the performance will also be touring later in the year:
- Cockburn – Sunday, 6 July
- Geraldton – Friday, 11 July
- Beverley – Wednesday, 16 July
- Harvey – Saturday, 19 July
- Margaret River – Saturday, 26 and Sunday, 27 July
- Port Hedland – Sunday, 16 November
- Karratha – Friday, 21 and Saturday, 22 November
Find out more about Tjaabi – Flood Country on the Big hART website.

Photo: Leith Alexander