A warm breeze blew through the gates of Fremantle Prison on the evening of 1 March 2024, as the crowd poured into the Parade Grounds courtyard. The sold out 2,700 capacity venue was a buzz of activity, transformed from prison courtyard into a festival-style grounds of food stalls, merch tent and main stage with people milling in the sunshine on the grass. 
Calypso Cora are a four-piece band of young guns, the vocalist being Xavier Rudd’s son, from New South Wales, springing into the music scene in 2023 with a refreshing sound. Playing as support for Xavier Rudd, Calypso Cora are musicians in their own right, holding their own on the stage as the crowd grooved along to their light pop-rock upbeat rhythms.
Although they have only played 5 gigs prior to opening for Xavier Rudd, their sound was reminiscent of a sweet catchy memorable jingle that you can’t stop listening to. They started the evening with the strums of their guitars blowing away the heat from the day as the sun set behind the walls of Fremantle Prison. The melodic surf rock riffs played out as the crowd enjoyed their mellow vibe in the cooling evening breeze. The crowd were clapping along to the energetic stage presence as the vocalist switched from guitar to indie rock tambourine and sang their debut single, ‘Be Yours’ released in the next few weeks.
The band played the first song they ever wrote, which is also the first song they ever put out, as their last song, to the cheers of an ever-growing crowd, thanking everyone for coming out to be present in this moment with them. If you dig bands like Lime Cordial and Winston Surf Shirt, you will enjoy Calypso Cora. Their debut single comes out in the next few weeks as they continue to play a bunch of shows around Australia, including support for Xavier Rudd, the Nannup Music Festival and shows along the east coast on their Chasing Catfish tour.
CALYPSO GALLERY
The crowd grew larger, and the grounds of Fremantle Prison continued to come alive as more people arrived filling the space to max capacity. The crowd was made up of many generations, from young and old and all walks of life, there to soak up Rudd’s lyrics and presence, united in their love of his music. They were sufficiently warmed up as Xavier Rudd took to the stage, illuminated with just a spotlight as he strummed his guitar and launched into his first song, ‘Full Circle’, to the whoops and cheers of the crowd. Rudd has just returned from an overseas tour to Australia to play a packed-out Fremantle Prison over two nights. Without even skipping a beat, he effortlessly played both guitar and didgeridoo simultaneously. It was an amazing start to whet the appetites of the crowd. The people in the audience continued to eat up every bite as Rudd launched into ‘Stony Creek’, with everyone singing along to the beautiful lyrics. 
Standing up on stage at Fremantle Prison Rudd poured out from his heart through his voice and his music. Many of his songs contain socially conscious themes with a simple message and his songs ‘Energy Song’, ‘Culture Bleeding’ and ‘We Deserve to Dream’ highlight this beautifully. His music is made up of song lines and heart songs, stories of his life and his love for this country. Although it was just Rudd on stage, he made use of a variety of pedals, stomp, keyboard, harmonica, didgeridoo, and his guitar, as well as a drum kit, to make it sound like there was a whole band playing up there on stage with him. There were many drum and didgeridoo solos with the crowd cheering Rudd on, and an eagle on the backdrop behind him as his vocals timed in and soared through Fremantle Prison.
It is not lost on me that we were standing in Fremantle Prison, a place once used to oppress people. It was not lost on Rudd either as he sang about past oppression but also about being so blessed to live in this country and be free in front of a milky way backdrop, matching his meticulous notes and gravelly vocals. Rudd’s songs continued with stories of his history, of his culture and lore and his love for the earth and this land throughout his encore electric performance. Bending strings and pedals, Rudd entertained the transfixed connected eyes of the crowd as they sang and clapped along to the rhythm and the beat, eating every bite that Rudd served them, all the while doing so with bare feet. 
Xavier Rudd continues to play shows around Australia promoting his new album, Jan Juc Moon, including SummerSalt in Denmark WA before heading to the east coast and then embarking on a USA/Canada tour.
Set list: Full Circle, Stoney Creek, Energy Song, Culture Bleeding, We Deserve to Dream, Storm Boy, Messages/Guku, Ball and Chain, Let Me Be, High Times, Spirit Bird, Lioness Eye/Flag, Follow The Sun, Come Let Go, Magic, Breeze, World Order.
With Thanks to Face to Face Touring for the media accreditation
Images Credit: Hunter Brothers Media
XAVIER RUDD GALLERY
