WITH the long-awaited rain arriving in the South East, the long dry spell is the last thing on peoples’ minds.
Just a few hours north, the paddocks start to lose their green.
The further you go, the drier it gets.
In fact, much of Australia is still gripped in severe drought.
This weekend, Glencoe-based band Cumpas will perform two concerts to remind South East residents of the plight of fellow Australians still doing it tough in drought-stricken areas.
Cumpas, which takes its name from the Spanish word for ‘mates’, is a string quintet comprising the four Murcott brothers, Daniel, Jeremy, Tommie and Joshua and their mother Robyn.
“We have been playing music together for about 10 years now and we do it for the same reason we do lots of other things together,” the band said.
“We are family and we are best mates.”
The brothers are no strangers to farm life, having all worked on farms and stations across the region.
Last year, Joshua also volunteered on stations around Broken Hill, outback SA and Longreach and saw first-hand the devastating results of the drought.
“The people up there are resilient and are holding on, but it has been a long, hard time for them, with terrible losses,” he said.
“They were amazed by photographs I showed them of home and of how green it is.”
Cumpas encouraged people to come together in a gesture of mateship and support to reassure the drought-stricken their plight is not forgotten.
They will donate all of the proceeds from their two concerts to St Andrew’s Anglican Church of Longreach to distribute to those most in need as a result of drought.
The concerts, while being fundraisers, are also guaranteed to please audiences.
The group plays music from an interesting array of sources, including classical music, traditional folk genres, gypsy and Klezmer styles and film and computer game scores.
Nearly all of the music has been arranged by Cumpas and is chosen for its beauty, interest and vitality.
Cumpas performed at the Millicent Anglican Church yesterday.
A matinee performance will be held at Mount Gambier’s Anglican Church on today at 2pm.
Both concerts include an interval and refreshments.
Tickets are $25 and are available at the door; children under 14 are free.
