New management but familiar faces and feel at 2023 Karijini Experience

The Karijini Experience returned after its 2022 hiatus with new management and fresh artists among some familiar faces. This year’s event was the first entirely owned and run by the Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, the trustee organisation for the Banjima who are the traditional owners of the land where the event takes place. The expansive West Pilbara landscape came alive with music and arts from July 5 to 9 as people from all over the State returned to the iconic show. It featured some massive acts from across Australia who came to the Experience for the first time, such as Northern Territory artists J-Milla and Emily Wurramara. Pilbara resident Bradley Hall has been performing at the Karijini Experience since its inception. He said this year’s event had a more chill atmosphere. “It’s so relaxing and you can’t go wrong with that backdrop,” he said. “This one felt a bit more laidback. I know there’s been a change of management and they are trying to find their feet and take something that is a massive achievement and keep that standard up. “But I think they did an awesome job.” Hall, who is originally from Marble Bar, has been performing at the Karijini Experience since the stage was wooden pallets. He said this year’s the event reminded him of his childhood. “It was freezing but we were able to sit around the campfire and keep warm,” Hall said. “It brings you back to when you are growing up and the things we now tend to miss out on.” Albany-based cover band Tre Amici also returned to the event. Lead singer Wade Morrison comes from a family of musicians and this year’s event also enabled him to revisit his childhood memories. “The performers were really good; playing up on the big stage here with the gorgeous backdrop that’s there is fantastic,” he said. “When I was a young fella Mark Atkins, who was playing there as well, I was around him because he knew my Dad really well. “So it was actually really nice to see Mark out there. “We had a big jam session afterward as well, and there were didgeridoos, guitars and singing and all sorts of stuff. “A lot of the after-events were pretty good.” When the Karijini Experience began in 2013, it was designed as a culinary event before growing to include more activities and become more family orientated. In 2019, more than 2000 people came to the event which featured 98 artists. Morrison said it was great to see the reaction of new musicians who were performing at the event for the first time. “J-Milla was fantastic and we got to catch up with him afterward and we just flew home with him,” he said. “He was fantastic and he was there with his in-laws, his missus and his little baby as well. “It really shows what sort of family event it has become when you see artists that are bringing their families along to it.” This year’s Karijini Experience also placed greater attention on Banjima culture.