Peter Brandy and Chaz Garnett

"It was hard work but a lot of fun," says Chaz Garnett proudly. "I sat on a phone for four days before carting my recording gear into the bush. But on the night we had ten acts and about 30 East Kimberley musicians performing."

Chaz is talking about the Barramundi Concert, the first totally Indigenous concert in Kununurra for years and one of the highlights of the 2006 Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster.

The concert, designed to showcase Indigenous musical talent in the East Kimberley, was initiated and organised by Argyle Diamonds.

"Normally," says Nicole Powell, Superintendent Communications at Argyle Diamonds, "we put something into an event and then step back. But this one we organised the whole thing."

"Argyle contacted me," continues Chaz, "and then I called my old mate singer/songwriter Peter Brandy and together Peter and I put the concert together. For weeks Peter and I toured communities in the East Kimberley organising workshops to help the singers and bands prepare. But it really paid off. At 5 o'clock on the evening of the concert there were more than 1,500 people in the Kununurra town oval and though the concert was due to finish at 10 it went on to almost midnight."

In their Stetson hats and with their guitars both Peter and Chaz look like typical country singers but Chaz shakes his head at the suggestion.

Argyle Diamonds Barramundi Concert 2006

"No, Peter is the real musician," he laughs. "I started out as a recording engineer and producer before moving into organising events. But Peter has won countless awards, including the Multi Western Australian Music Industry (WAMI) award, which is why he was one of the special guest stars at the concert."

Other star attractions on the night were deadly award winning artists, 'Fitzroy Xpress', and also Mary G.

"One of the most significant benefits," Chaz continues, "was that the concert provided a great opportunity for regional artists such as Geoffrey Fletcher from Halls Creek and Wyndham Band, Rodeworx, to perform in Kununurra. And we made two CDs: one a live recording of the concert, the other recorded from the workshops."

The concert has been so successful that Argyle Diamonds has committed to staging it for the next three years.

"As a way of celebrating local culture," says Nicole, "the concert was an unqualified success. And it's so refreshing to see Indigenous people taking centre stage for once."