Tablelands Folk Festival Yungaburra /Janggaburru Sessions
Yungaburra Hotel
Folk Music Jam Session from 3pm on the pub Verandah

KOAHLITION ON STAGE From 7.30 in the pub Ballroom
Saturday July 22
No Cover charge
KOAHLITION
An alliance of many cultures and the common goal to play roots, rock, reggae music, with a distinct Far North Queensland sound and conscious message.
Koahlition has been dedicated to sharing their music in Australian communities for over 10 years. Founding member Rohan Rusch, brings together his son Adric Rusch (bass), his cousin, Papua New Guinea’s soulstress Sharmaine Drieberg (vocals/back-up vocals).
They are joined by lifetime friends Bertie (Djawarray) (songwriter, lead vocals, guitar) and cousin Aaron (Bigmo) Riley (drums) from Ngunbay (Kuranda), Sabai Island’s guitar wizard Moses Warusum (lead guitar), Cairns-based keyboardist Paul Barton and Darnley Island’s Kapua Gutchen (back-up vocals).
As a collective, the band spreads ever-evolving, conscious messages through new tunes envisioned from Rusch’s tropical veranda in Koah.
Koahlition are also known to pay tribute with originals and cover songs inspired by the forefathers of reggae/roots music, Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert and Peter Tosh.
The band has also joined forces with Djabugay/Yirrganydji (Kuranda/Cairns bama) singer/songwriter Djawarray (Bertie Riley) from the legendary Kuranda band Gudju Gudju, to bring ancestral First Nations songlines to the forefront. Djawarrays’s original song, ‘Bundarra’ is based on the songline passed down about the endangered native Australian bird, the Cassowary.
Thunder is the voice of Gudju-gudju (the rainbow serpent) and Bertie Djawarray Riley intends to live up to his totem, taking on the responsibility he was born with to keep the culture, language and the lore of the land alive through music.
Sharing both his authentic Djabugay and Yirrganydi heritage and language, he captivates audiences with songs which pass down knowledge to future generations about the lore of the land.
With the belief that there has been a lack of recognition for the unique sound that derives from the area, known to locals as Aboriginal Rainforest Reggae, Koahlition strives to preserve and recognize the history of a significant music movement in Kuranda/Koah.
The band feels a duty to band behind Djawarray with the shared mission to keep culture and language alive, a vital step towards reconciliation and healing that should be shared with the world.