Balya Productions

Vlog Alert 🚨✨🎥 Presented at Wamarra Music Lab with MusicNSW then off to Tamworth for the Great Southern Nights 🎸

Some of the Mob behind the scenes and stage production 🖤 BlakNite26

This Friday you Mob! 1 of May BLAK NITE is back 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼 on Kaurna Country Doors open from 4pm @carclew Hope you ready and got your Ticket 🎟️ link in the Bio 🔗

A big thank you to the legends behind Lime Green Festival. Festival directors, artists and crew aren’t just backing Balya Productions, they’re trusting a First Nations–led program built on years of connection and industry respect. Real impact : mob gaining hands-on experience as stage crew, working under direction and building pathways into the industry. Nothing makes us more proud than seeing more mob on stages and behind the scenes. We can’t be what we can’t see 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼 @limegreenfest @limecordiale @joshickie 📸 photos 1 & 7

Hey you mob! We’ll be in Darwin with @almbc__ tomorrow if you want to come have a yarn 😌

Meaningful inclusion is when First Nations people are leading, shaping and benefiting from the work. Not just included in it. 1. Self-determination First Nations people have control over decisions that impact our stories, communities and cultural expressions. Not consulted after the fact. 2. Cultural integrity Culture is respected, protected and led by Mob. Not adapted or diluted to fit mainstream expectations. 3. Representation with purpose Not token roles or one-off opportunities, but consistent, paid and meaningful involvement across all levels. 4. Access and pathways Clear opportunities to enter, grow and lead within industries. Not short-term or symbolic engagement. 5. Long-term relationships Genuine partnerships with community, built on trust, accountability and reciprocity. Not convenience or trend. 6. Accountability Organisations taking responsibility for how they engage, who they include, and the impact they have. Beyond public-facing gestures. What it is not: – Consultation with no decision-making power – One First Nations artist on a lineup – Welcome to Country only – Unpaid or underpaid “opportunities” – Short-term engagement for optics Anything less is performative. Credit to all photographers who captured these images across Balya Productions co-produced events, at both community and national levels.

SHOUT OUT TO MY BROTHER: Zak Raymond A proud Mak Mak Marranungu man from the Finniss River (NT), raised on Nurrunga Country in SA. Zak’s been working in the industry since 2012 starting as a performer and now carving out a solid path behind the scenes as an audio engineer. He’s travelled across Australia supporting acts like Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, Alice Cooper and Ocean Alley Studied at Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) + SAE on Kaurna Yerta, and recently stepped into the role of PA Rigger and Patch Tech for National Indigenous Music Awards 2025 with E3 Productions. We go way back to our CASM days and it’s been deadly watching his journey evolve. Quiet achiever. Big moves. As he grows in the industry his wanting to opening doors for more mob to step into the industry. 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼

Vale Rhoda Roberts AO. A trailblazer, storyteller and cultural leader. Aunty Rhoda dedicated her life to uplifting First Nations voices across the creative industries, creating pathways for our stories, our identity and our people to stand strong. I was honoured to share space with Aunty on a panel in Byron Bay, a moment of mutual respect between two Blak women in a room full of people. One I will always carry with me. Her leadership, integrity and deep care for community have left a lasting imprint across Australia’s arts and music sectors. Her legacy will continue to guide and inspire generations to come. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, community and all who were touched by her life and work. Rest in the Dreaming, Aunty 🤍 Image: Remote and Regional Music Summit 2025, Byron Bay

A huge thank you to the supporters helping make the Balya Mentee Program possible 🙏🏽 At Balya Productions, creating pathways for First Nations people in the live music and events industry is at the heart of what we do. In 2025, three First Nations crew joined the program at the Adelaide show of St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. In 2026, the program expanded to six First Nations mentees working across the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth tour sites, gaining hands-on experience inside a national touring festival fast-paced environment. This opportunity is supported through the Solar Slice initiative, delivered by Feat.Live in partnership with Laneway Festival, where $1 from every ticket goes towards environmental and social impact projects. This year Solar Slice is also supporting two incredible LGBTQI+ organisations selected by festival headliner Chappell Roan. Programs and initiatives like this are making real impact and creating meaningful change in the industry. For more information about these initiatives and the impact they are making, go check out their websites. @feat.artists @lanewayfest 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼

For those who may not know, or may have forgotten. We are Mob-led and grass roots community. Balya Productions Founder and Director Letisha Ackland began her journey as a performer. After studying at CASM, Letisha performed at Blak Nite in 2011 before stepping away from the stage as a performer to support artists from behind the scenes, moving into production and event management. Fifteen years on, that journey has come full circle. Balya Productions returns as Production Manager for Blak Nite 2026, leading the event from the other side of the stage while continuing our commitment to creating strong, culturally-led spaces in collaboration with First Nations artists and First Nations lead grassroots community events.

Today we recognise Letisha Ackland. A proud Kokatha, Wirangu and Mirning woman, she is the Founder and Director of Balya Productions, a First Nations-led live music and events production company creating pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Australia’s touring, community events and festival industry. With 18 years of experience in the live music and events industry, Letisha works across major festivals, national tours and both large-scale and grassroots cultural events. Hailing from Ceduna and based on Kaurna Yerta in South Australia, her work spans event management, stage production and touring logistics, contributing to nationally recognised events including St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Spilt Milk and the National Indigenous Music Awards. Alongside this national work, she remains deeply connected to the community. She event manages the NAIDOC SA Family Festival and Mourning in the Morning, serves as Production Manager for BlakNite and BlakYard Picnic, and has stage managed Survival Day events multiple times. She also contributes to the Spirit Festival and brought her expertise back to her own community Festival in Ceduna - Yabaardu. Letisha is the recipient of the 2025 Australian Women in Music Live Production Touring Award and the 2024 NAIDOC SA Person of the Year, recognising her leadership in creating opportunities for First Nations people within the music and events industry. Through Balya Productions, she leads mentorship and workforce initiatives that support emerging First Nations crew to gain real-world industry experience, strengthening representation in an industry historically dominated by men and non-Indigenous workers. 📸 @noicepicciesm8 #internationalwomensday

Shout out to Gangurru Apparel for printing our Crew shirt for this years Laneway tour 🙌🏾 📸 @_cole.baxter