Beeliar Sun Sets Success22FEBRUARY2025
Get ready to throw your arms around the Cockburn tradition of supporting homegrown Aussie music as we countdown to our free Beeliar Sun Sets concert on 22 February in Success.
This year’s headline act is Mark Seymour & The Undertow, with Seymour’s original 80s Melbourne band Hunters & Collectors’ seminal Australian rock hymn Throw Your Arms Around Me high on the set list.
Fellow Aussie rockers, Sydney 80s pub band the Choirboys, are also on the program along with Bunbury’s Great Gable before heading off on a Euro-UK-Canada tour, west coast indie rockers Lonesome Dove and Fremantle power-chord princess Abbe May.
Aria-award winning Seymour and his musical storyteller band have been performing since 2011 and devotees can expect a raft of music from new album THE BOXER punctuated with eternal favourites including Holy Grail and Do You See What I See.
In anticipation of the band’s Cockburn performance, Mark Seymour said he loved playing to people who appreciated live music, like those who came out for community concerts.
“There is a genuine open-heartedness in towns and places where people don’t often get to see live music, playing to all ages especially,” Seymour said.
“I love the open road. Road travel is in our blood. WA is quite literally a world apart. Audiences react differently. A broader mix of ages, genuine enthusiasm. I’ve been coming over now for decades.
“There’s always a lot of dialogue in the media about the future of live music on the grass roots level but I think Australian audiences hold special regard for their own music. Australian Music will always have an audience.”
Seymour said he was looking forward to taking to the stage with his fellow performers.
“There is a genuine vitality to Australian music at the moment. Female songwriters are growing more confident and outspoken. There’s a powerful thread of strong song writing throughout the line-up (in Cockburn) which is hugely important and great to be a part of .. much respect.”
Soul-gospel-electro-bluez artist Abbe May also said community concerts were an important way to bring people together with the arts.
“Nothing quite like music to bring connection and catharsis to community! Especially at times of instability,” said May, who is currently recording her 6th album, Wet Denim.
“It’s cool too that young kids can see music with their families. It’s inspiring. I remember seeing Hoodoo Gurus at a concert like this back in the 90’s when I was a little kid. I loved it. It’s a core memory.”
City of Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett said the much-anticipated event continued the City’s tradition of staging epic free annual concerts celebrating homegrown musical talent.
“This is an invitation to celebrate and connect with our friends and family to the backdrop of some incredibly accomplished Australian music legends and some of Western Australia’s most promising up and coming talent,” Mayor Howlett said.
“I encourage the community to bring along a picnic and settle in for an evening of old and new favourites as we enjoy how lucky we are here in Cockburn, on Beeliar boodjar.
“The name Beeliar Sun Sets acknowledges the Nyungar people of Beeliar boodjar. Beeliar (or bilya) means river in the Nyungar language and can also be interpreted as stream, creek or waterway of which there are many in Beeliar Regional Park where wetlands and lakes are a vital part of the local ecology.”
Mayor Howlett said the City’s Success Regional Sporting Facility on Hammond Road was a great outdoor space for a concert of this calibre.
“We’ve been holding various iterations of these popular free concerts in Cockburn for more than 20 years,” he said.
“This concert is a celebration of the region’s natural beauty, and as the sun sets over Beeliar boodjar, the music connects us to the land, its culture, and each other.”
Our MC will be Pam Boland, passionate music and art lover, and Breakfast Show presenter on Perth’s RTRFM 92.1.
Other attractions will include a sparkle station where you can add some glitter to your outfit, a silent disco (ages 10+), giant games and a mini sideshow alley.
The star fairground ride will be the Dream Swinger, which was one of the most popular attractions at the 2024 Rotary Spring Fair. Providing a 360-degree aerial view, the ride soars 12m into the air before oscillating down to ground level.
Find out more about Beeliar Sun Sets on the City’s
website.
Captions: Mark Seymour & The Undertow, and the Choirboys will headline the free Beeliar Sun Sets concert in Success.