This NAIDOC Week, Lutheran Care is proud to uplift the wonderful achievements and talents of legendary Central Australian music artist and Aboriginal Elder, Warren H. Williams. 

Warren is a respected Western Arrarnta Elder from Ntaria (Hermannsburg), and a renowned singer songwriter, whose works include 11 albums over a distinguished 40 year career. 

Having collaborated with some of the biggest household names in Australian music, including John Williamson on the ARIA award-nominated duet, Raining on the Rock, you might have seen Warren performing on some of the country’s biggest stages. Or, you might have seen him sharing his talents at the local open mic night on Tuesdays at Jump Inn, in Alice Springs.  

He is a multi-award winning artist, having been honoured through the Tamworth Country Music ‘Golden Guitars’, as a NAIDOC ‘Artist of the Year’, and as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Warren made history this year with his song Ntaria, featuring Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson. Sung in the Western Arrente language, it is the first song performed entirely in an Aboriginal language to be shortlisted for the prestigious Golden Guitar Awards (for Vocal Collaboration of the Year and Heritage Song of the Year), and pays tribute to his home community of Ntaria. Warren performed the song with Kasey and Shane live at the awards. 

A versatile artist, you might have even seen him acting in Australian crime drama, True Colours as police officer Samuel Alma, alongside a talented cast including world-famous Australian actress, Miranda Otto. Warren was the co-creator of the original mini series, produced by SBS in collaboration with NITV, and was later picked up by Netflix. The show featured English and Central and Western Arrernte languages and was filmed in the Yeperenye (East Macdonnell Ranges). You can stream True Colours from SBS, here.

You might have heard Warren’s voice over the radio, through his longstanding association broadcasting with CAAMA radio, the first licensed Aboriginal radio station. 

Perhaps you’ve seen Warren star in the TV advertising campaign for Lutheran Care that aired on Imparja, filmed on location in Alice Springs, as well as Ntaria (Hermannsburg) and Utju (Areyonga)? Lutheran Care is very grateful for Warren’s support of Lutheran Care by lending his voice and weight to this campaign. 

You might have seen Warren in the media? Recently, Warren contributed his voice to a group of well-known artists and creatives including Mahalia Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Andy Griffiths and Mark Seymour, who stood up for their original work, calling on the government to keep copyright laws strong so they prevent creative works being harvested to train AI. Find out more here.

Another exciting development on the horizon is the launch of Warren’s new album, “Undar Werma” – “Are you Listening” and represents his 11th career album, which, is his first full studio album in language. 

The album will be launched with a star-studded concert at Alice Springs’ Araluen Arts Centre on Thursday 24 September. Warren will perform the album with very special guest appearances by Kasey Chambers, Shane Nicholson, KYARNA and the Williams Family.  Tickets are on sale now. Click here for more information and to secure your seats.

Warren has long been an advocate for tourism and cultural opportunities in the Ntaria community, encouraging visitors to experience the region’s unique history, arts and traditions. Ntaria (Hermannsburg) is renowned for its artistic legacy. One of Australia’s most celebrated painters, Albert Namatjira, a relative of Warren, was born there. His iconic landscapes inspired the lyrics of the classic Australian song Raining on the Rock:

“Pastel red to burgundy and spinifex to gold,
We’ve just come out of the Mulga where the plains forever roll.
And Albert Namatjira has painted all the scenes,
And a shower has changed the lustre of our land.”

The community also has a deep connection with Lutheranism. Hermannsburg was established as a Lutheran Aboriginal mission in 1877, and Lutheran missionary and anthropologist Carl Strehlow documented the local Western Arrarnta language during his time there. Many of the original whitewashed mission buildings remain intact today and form part of the heritage-listed Hermannsburg Historic Precinct.

Music has long been central to community life. The Hermannsburg Choir, founded through the mission, became internationally recognised for its performances and its role in preserving language through song. Warren comes from a family deeply connected to that tradition. His late father, Gus Williams OAM, was a lead singer of the choir, a founding member of local bands, and a respected country music singer-songwriter. Warren’s family members are still involved in the family music tradition.

Today, Warren continues to champion the region’s cultural heritage through music, tourism and the arts. He also promotes the work of the acclaimed Hermannsburg Potters, whose distinctive ceramics attract visitors from across Australia and overseas.

As stated on the Undar Werma – Are You Listening album launch webpage, Warren hopes his music will “reignite the passion of his community, especially the youth, to continue the song, language and choir traditions of Warren’s fore family and the broader Hermannsburg community, and to carry it on into the future with strength and pride.”

NAIDOC Week runs from 5-12 July and this year is celebrating ’50 Years of Deadly’.