Lineup: 2010
Oka
Sunshine Coast, Australia
When Stu Boga Fergie was only a child, his Yakin Andu elders gifted him with the nickname DidgeriStu, a nod to his prodigious skills on the didgeridoo. They must have had a gift of foresight.
Now, DidgeriStu is all grown up, and his skills on the otherworldly Australian instrument are too.
As one half of the genre-defying dance-roots duo OKA, Fergie rattles earth and sky on his didge; he also brings the ancient stories of his people to stages across the world. Next to him sits Chris, a man with haunting sense of melody and a daunting collection of instruments (bamboo flutes, harmonica, slide guitar and more). With or without their ryhthm section, Oka updates the throbbing, earthy beats of tribal music for the digital age, while keeping their spiritual melodies pure.