Donovan and the MSO will present Take Me to The River for NAIDOC week at Hamer Hall on July 10, blending archival soul repertoire with new, geographically and culturally specific interpretations.

Donovan has deep roots in Melbourne’s music scene, collaborating with the Black Arm Band and The Putbacks, and evolving from soul-funk toward a country and gospel-influenced voice in recent years.

The show threads classic soul songs by Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James into orchestral arrangements by Alex Turley, with Donovan aiming to personalize performances beyond mere covers.

Her approach blends intimate storytelling with musical yarns, using personal props like seed pods, shells, and clapsticks, and soundscapes that evoke coastal and Indigenous island settings such as the Nambucca River.

Emma Donovan’s Take Me to the River is a personal storytelling project that links her memories, family, and homeland to a NAIDOC week performance with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The show centers on Donovan’s Gumbaynggirr country and the Nambucca River region, drawing on childhood experiences, family rituals, and her late mother’s teachings to shape the narrative and sound.

The project marks a long journey back to her home in Nambucca after years of gigging along the east coast, reconnecting with family, language, and community.

The production emphasizes family heritage, language revival (learning her late grandmother’s language with her daughters), and keeping cultural connections alive through performance and memory.