Having enchanted Australian music fans for the past three decades with their effervescent performance and effortless harmonies, #AgnesBluesFest are super excited to announce that their 2024 Headline act will be none other than Australia’s most loved duo, legendary sister-force Vika & Linda.
From church to the charts, Vika & Linda have enjoyed a remarkable musical journey. They have had an incredible three Top 5 albums in the past three years, as well as releasing the acclaimed memoir No Bull, which documents their remarkable musical life, including eight studio albums, two live albums and a chart- topping anthology, plus three classic albums with The Black Sorrows. They have also sung on number one albums by Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers and John Farnham, done gigs for the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and the King of Tonga, and been nominated for six ARIA Awards.
Singing comes naturally to Vika & Linda and you just can’t beat siblings singing together. Stemming from a rich Tongan heritage, a culture that, according to Vika is “by nature fun, always laughing, always eating, always singing and always praying,” Vika & Linda’s body of work is extensive in beauty and depth.
“We learned to sing at Church,” Linda adds. “Our mother was our teacher and we loved listening to the Tongans singing. It was joyous.”
Along the way, Vika & Linda have also been much-loved members of the RocKwiz Orkestra – on TV and on the road – and sung on iconic Australian albums such as Archie Roach’s Charcoal Lane, John Farnham’s Chain Reaction, Deborah Conway’s String of Pearls, Hunters & Collectors’ Ghost Nation, Ross Wilson’s Dark Side Of The Man, Kasey Chambers’ Dragonfly and Paul Kelly’s first number one album, Life Is Fine.
Vika & Linda are admired and respected by fans and fellow artists, including Joe Camilleri, Mark Seymour, Tim Rogers, Marlon Williams, Shane Howard, RocKwiz and Kate Ceberano, to name a few. “They are the most loved vocal duo of their generation,” Craig Horne wrote in his 2019 book, Roots, How Melbourne Became The Live Music Capital Of The World.
“Their beauty, talent and virtuosity is irrefutable,” says James Reyne. “Musical life with Vika & Linda is one that’s full of soul, harmony and joy.”
“Their voices combined sound salty-sweet,” Paul Kelly adds, “and have that elusive twinned quality you only get when siblings sing together – two swallows swooping and spiraling in the air as if invisibly girded. Vika has great cut and articulation and can really open up the throttle. Linda is warm and mellow like honey. But they can switch roles. They can both be tough and tender.”
Vika & Linda made their own history in 2020 when their career anthology, ‘Akilotoa, entered the Australian charts at number one – their first chart-topping album and the first number one album by an Australian female duo. Three months later, Vika & Linda’s gospel collection, Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso), debuted at number two.
In 2021, the release of Vika & Linda’s first album of original material in 19 years, aptly titled The Wait, entered the ARIA charts at number two and became their third Top 3 album in just 15 months.
In 2022, the sisters released their first Christmas album, Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas! (an “all-killer stocking- filler”, according to Rhythms magazine). Anyone expecting a set of gospel tracks or traditional Christmas carols was in for a surprise as Vika & Linda delivered their joyous take on seasonal songs by Slade, the Ramones, Wizzard, Queen and Tom Petty.
The Christmas collection coincided with the release of No Bull, the sisters’ memoir documenting their journey from Doncaster, in suburban Melbourne, to the top of the charts.
Vika & Linda were inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame in 2019 and in 2022 were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for their service to the performing arts.
“Through all this,” Vika says, “we’ve learnt to be honest with ourselves, work as hard as we can, to take full responsibility for our decisions – both good and bad – and, most importantly, to get the job done and to enjoy ourselves.”
“After 35 years, we feel we are just hitting our stride,” Linda adds. “We have never been in a hurry to get to the top. That has never been our goal. Longevity has.”
The unmissable Vika & Linda will Headline the #AgnesBluesFest Marquee Stage Saturday night 17 February 2024 www.vikaandlinda.com.au
#AgnesBluesFest 2024 Early Bird tickets and merchandise are now on sale at www.agnesbluesandroots.com.au with discounts applicable until 1 September 2023. Performer and Volunteer expressions of interest can also be submitted via the Home page.
