Jack River is already an ARIA-nominated musician, festival organiser, activist, and writer, but now she adds podcast host to that list, with the launch of To Rebel in The Times today.
For a number of years now, Holly Rankin has used her Jack River moniker to help advocate for change, with this theme serving as a constant thread through everything she creates. For the debut issue of Rolling Stone Australia in early May, she channelled this advocacy into a chat with Midnight Oil’s frontman, environmentalist, activist, and politician Peter Garrett.
Sparking a desire within Jack River to continue to shine a light on important viewpoints associated with environmental, social, cultural, and political issues, the acclaimed artist used this COVID-19 downtime to speak to important voices within the music world. The result is To Rebel in The Times, an independent podcast which focuses on change, music, and the times.
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“We are living in such a huge time, undergoing intense culture shifts, wrangling the upheaval of old ideas and (hopefully) replacing them with something better,” Jack River explained.
“With To Rebel in The Times, I wanted to know where artists’ minds are at, especially the artists who have made it their life and art’s work to create change, and why it is so important to them that they use their voice, that they stand up and not only say something, but do something.”
Launching today, the first series of the podcast is titled “Sounds of Change”, and will feature a new episode each week for the next six weeks, featuring some of the biggest names in both Australian and international music.
The first episode of the podcast features Cub Sport frontperson Tim Nelson, who discusses falling in love and the demolition of gender constructs. The next few weeks will feature a discussion of Indigenous Land Rights with Alaskan musician John Gouley – frontman of Portugal. The Man, while Kita Alexander will discuss motherhood and feminism in music.
The final three weeks are set to feature chats with the likes of Briggs, Ziggy Alberts, and Alex The Astronaut.
“In my career so far, I’ve found that my activism and will for change sit right beside my art – often inspiring it,” Jack River added. “I want to make a little space for deep conversation and make time to talk about the complexities and drives of change in this time we are living in.”
In the days following each episode, listeners will be invited to take part in a Question & Answer session on the podcast’s Instagram page, allowing fans to engage in their own education and conversation on the matters that speak to them.
The first episode of Jack River’s To Rebel in The Times is available now, with new episodes set to arrive weekly.
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