LACHY JOHN USES MUSIC TO SHARE INDIGENOUS STORIES AND SPARK CHANGE
BY ASAD KHAN
For Bibbulmun Noongar singer-songwriter Lachy John, music is more than art, it’s activism.
Currently on tour, the Fremantle-based musician has been performing songs grounded in Indigenous rights and cultural identity.
Drawing on his lived experience, he uses his guitar, harmonica and voice to explore themes of history, endurance and resistance.
“I do a lot of Indigenous rights and activism,”
“Telling the stories of who we are, where we’ve come from, what we’ve endured, and what we’re still enduring – that’s been a massive thing for me.”
With lyrics shaped by personal insight, Mr John said being a white-passing Indigenous man comes with a particular responsibility.
“I probably get given an ear more often in some ways as well,”
“So I take that responsibility very seriously.” he said.
Ngaarda Media’s Asad Khan pictured with Lachy Thomas
While protest has its place, he believes music creates a different kind of opening – one that can soften resistance and create space for deeper understanding.
“There’s a place for each type of activism,” he said.
“Sometimes you’ve got to yell in the street and call people and politicians out. But sometimes people aren’t open to hearing things that way.”
By performing at festivals, venues, and even around the dinner table, he has witnessed firsthand how a song can cut through.
“I’ve had people come up afterwards and say, ‘Now I know what you mean. Now I understand why you’re so passionate,’”
“That’s a powerful experience and why I keep doing it.”
Through storytelling in song, Thomas continues to build bridges between cultures – one verse at a time.
Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Asad Khan speak with Lachy Thomas: