This year’s theme – They dared to challenged - celebrates those who supported and re-ignited the spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972.

Each year a town or city is chosen to host the NAIDOC Award Ceremony, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are recognised for their work in communities, the arts, sports and lifetime achievements. This year the ceremony and ball will be held in Hobart, Tasmania.

In tribute to NAIDOC Week, STUDIO will broadcast programs focusing on some of Australia’s most iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This includes our World Television premiere of I Am Eora, a STUDIO PRESENTS documentary going behind the scenes of I Am Eora, which was performed at the 2012 Sydney Festival.

We will also feature Conversations With Indigenous Artists each weekday evening, and take you on a journey with Murundak – Songs of Freedom which include performances from Archie Roach, Dan Sultan, Emma Donovan and many more.

The three retell the intimate stories behind their songs, the inspiration and their relationship with indigenous Australia. This is an inspirational experience that gets to the heart of who we are.

From the concert halls of the Sydney Opera House to the remote communities of the Northern Territory, ‘murundak’ – meaning ‘alive’ in Woirurrung language – brings together pioneering singers and emerging talent including Archie Roach, the late Ruby Hunter, Dan Sultan, Emma Donovan and more.

Shane Howard is an Australian guitarist and singer songwriter best known as the lead singer of Goanna, the first Australian rock band to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights. 2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the iconic album ‘Spirit of Place‘, and Shane will be touring the country.

From 7.30pm Tuesday 10 April, Shane Howard will take over STUDIO, programming a night of entertainment which showcases the musicians, artists and authors that have influenced his career. Beginning with John Lennon and writer Jack Kerouac, Shane discusses how these prolific writers influenced his songwriting. He then chats about the importance of music in protest, from artists Archie Roach and the Black Arm Band who pioneered the musical protest for Aboriginal rights.

John Lennon: Rare and Unseen – 7.30pm
Three decades after his death, this documentary presents a rare collection of film, newsreels, photographs and television interviews with John Lennon to paint an intimate portrait of history’s most brilliant and prolific songwriter.

Jack Kerouac’s America – 8pm
Beat writer Jack Kerouac was an influential figure in 20th century American literature. This documentary offers insights into the man through footage of the author and those who knew him.

Soundtrack For A Revolution - 9pm
This is the story of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, uniquely told through archive footage, interviews and live performances of classic freedom songs from contemporary artists.

Iconic Songs With Archie Roach At WOMAdelaide 2011- 10.30pm
Sometimes a song really does change a nation. Filmed live at WOMADelaide 2011, Archie Roach is joined by long-time friends Shane Howard and Neil Murray to perform three iconic Australian songs.

Murundak: Songs of Freedom – 11pm
Follows the journey of The Black Arm Band along with some of Australia’s most iconic indigenous musicians as they travel throughout Australia with their songs of freedom and resistance. Featuring Archie Roach, Shane Howard, Ursula Yovich and many more.

Which Side Are You On – Lou Bennett with Shane Howard & Paul Dempsey

I Was Only Nineteen – John Schumann with Shane Howard

I Am Woman -  Joss Stone

The Future -  Paul Dempsey with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett & Emma Donovan

American Idiot-  Paul Dempsey

Took The Children Away – Archie Roach with Shane Howard and Lou Bennett

This Land Is Your Land -  Mavis Staples, and Joss Stone with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Emma Donovan       

Eyes On The Prize – Mavis Staples with Joss Stone Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Emma Donovan 

Freedom Highway – Mavis Stables with Lou Bennett, Emma Donovan & Shellie Morris

Tom Traubert’s Blues – Rickie Lee Jones

Feeling Good -  Joss Stone

Somewhere -   Rickie Lee Jones and Archie Roach

Into My Arms -  Archie Roach

Emma -  Emmanual Jal with DJ Silvastone Lou Bennett, Shellie Morris & Emma Donovan and Invenio Choir

I’ll Take You There – Mavis Staples with Joss Stone and Rickie Lee Jones

Long Way to the Top -  Ensemble

Before you watch the world television premiere of the concert on STUDIO, relive all the original performances from the likes of Bob Dylan, Green Day and Nick Cave in this dedicated YouTube playlist. It includes Nick Cave performing Into My Arms, Goanna’s hit Standing on Solid Rock and Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land.

Watch the Soundtrack of a Revolution Playlist now.

notes from the hard road and beyond was a celebration of music of protest, rebellion, love and hope and featured the incredible Mavis Staples, Joss Stone and Something for Kate’s Paul Dempsey.

Inspired by the revolutionary atmosphere, STUDIO installed a message wall and invited guests to leave their mark and answer a simple question: What do you believe…?

This incredible video features Archie Roach‘s heart-warming rendition of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Into My Arms.

The concert weaves together music by Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger and Green Day to form a soundtrack to freedom. Joined by Australia’s The Black Arm Band, this is a unique and joyous testament to the human spirit and the power of voice to change the world.

See the full track list here.

WATCH: Joss Stone and Paul Dempsey perform Throw Your Arms Around Me

In this duet, soul singer Joss Stone and Something for Kate’s Paul Demspey perform a beautiful rendition of the Hunters and Collectors classic, Throw You Arms Around Me. Watch it now.

WATCH: Joss Stone performs People Get Ready

Joss Stone applies her soul groove to The Impressions hit, People Get Ready. Watch it now.

WATCH: Mavis Staples performs Freedom Highway

Gospel icon Mavis Staples was joined onstage by members of The Black Arm Band to perform Freedom Highway, a Staples Singers hit that would become an anthem of Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement. Watch it now.

WATCH: Emmanuel Jal performs War Child

Born into the life of a child soldier in Sudan, Emmanuel Jal survived unbelievable struggles to emerge as a world-acclaimed hip-hop artist, spreading a message of peace and understanding. In this clip he performs his exploration of the life of a child soldier – War Child. Watch it now.

What Do You Believe?

Inspired by the revolutionary atmosphere at notes from the hard road and beyond, STUDIO installed a message wall and invited guests to leave their mark and answer a simple question: What do you believe…?

Watch the inspiring responses here. This incredible video features Archie Roach‘s haunting rendition of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Into My Arms.

“Standin’ on solid rock,  Standin’ on sacred ground,  Living on borrowed time,  And the winds of change are blowin’ down the line”

So go the famous lines of Shane Howard’s hit song Standin’ on Solid Rock, lyrics which soon became one of the anthems of land-rights activism and inspired a whole new generation of writers and musicians.

In 1982 Shane Howard and his band Goanna recorded the iconic hit, when a trip to Uluru inspired him to sing about the injustices of indigenous Australia. It was one of the first songs of its idiom to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia and soon became a massive hit.

The classic clip above shows Goanna in 1982, at the height of their fame.

In Iconic Songs on Thursday 25 August, Shane talks about his own experience with indigenous Australia, and the trip to Uluru which inspired the hit song.  Then he and long-time friends Archie Roach and Neil Murray perform a heart-breaking acoustic rendition of the song to a crowd at WOMADelaide 2011.

“You took the children away, Breaking their mothers heart, Tearing us all apart” the lyrics rang.

This heartbreaking  account of the Stolen Generation became the anthem of indigenous activism in Australia– It was awarded two ARIA Awards as well as an international Human Rights Achievement Award,  cementing Roach as a powerful activist and storyteller.

Through the proceeding 20 years, Roach has sung with measured reason and heartfelt sorrow of his own deep experiences, as well of those of his ancestors.

In Iconic Songs on Thursday 25 August, Archie talks about his own experience as one of the Stolen Generation, and how writing Took the Children Away helped to heal the pain. Then he and long-time friends Shane Howard and Neil Murray perform a heart-breaking acoustic rendition of the song to a crowd at WOMADelaide 2011.