Timor Leste - Ita Nia Lian, Ita Nia Istoria - Our Voices, Our Stories

A landmark concert celebrating Timor-Leste’s most exciting voices.

Timor-Leste - Ita Nia Lian, Ita Nia Istoria - Our Voices Our Stories spotlights the vibrant new wave of Timorese music led by Hamoris Lian Timor, a creative movement dedicated to nurturing young artists, preserving cultural memory, and amplifying Timor-Leste's stories on the world stage. Emerging from community driven collaboration across Dili, Suai, and the diaspora, Hamoris Lian Timor empowers artists to record, perform and share their lived experiences with authenticity, pride, and artistic freedom.

This landmark concert features three of the movement’s most exciting voices, Izu, Jovie, and Lolobremu. Their powerful songwriting and contemporary Timorese sound are redefining what modern music from Timor-Leste can be. Joining them will be special guest, iconic singer-songwriter Ego Lemos, whose presence bridges generations and honours the long tradition of Timorese musical activism.

Celebrating the deep creative relationship between Timor-Leste and Australia, the evening also features acclaimed First Nations artist Candice Lorrae, alongside the legendary Dili Allstars with David Bridie (Not Drowning, Waving), and cellist and composer Helen Mountfort from My Friend the Chocolate Cake.

In a history making moment, the night unveils three major Hamoris Lian Timor releases – IzuPi, Lolobremu, and Feto Nia Lian Feto Nia Istoria (featuring Jesuina de Carvalho and Felicia Maia) – and the premiere of a new documentary from Wantok Musik Foundation's recent work with the Women's Project. This gathering of new work makes for an unmissable evening, highlighting Wantok’s commitment to elevating Timorese storytelling on the global stage.

Supported by Creative Victoria and the Office for the Arts, this concert brings together artists whose work speaks to resilience, identity, and cultural connection.

Ticket Prices

Standard $55 ($45 Concession)

A Transaction Fee between $4 and $8.50 applies to orders made online and by phone. Delivery Fees may also apply. A ticket limit of six is in place online to ensure fair ticket access for all. Want to bring a bigger party? Call our Box Office during business hours on (03) 9699 3333 to book.

About the Artists

Led by Australian-Timorese musicians and implemented alongside Timor-Leste communities, Hamoris Lian Timor (Reviving the Sound of Timor) is an innovative new music and culture project facilitated by Wantok Musik Foundation.

Deeply grounded in place, culture, history, and language, it aims to create links and share skills between artists in Timor-Leste, the Australian-Timorese community and the broader Australian artistic community. The project draws on leaders with significant familial and cultural links to Timor-Leste and is supported by the strength of the Wantok Musik Foundation’s sustained and longstanding relationships with the Timor-Leste artistic community.

Wantok Musik preserves and celebrates music, art, and stories of First Nations peoples. Their mission is to transform lives by sharing stories that elevate traditional languages and promote pride in place. 

For over 20 years, they have worked alongside communities across the Pacific to record and share music, languages, and cultural knowledge at risk of being lost.

As both a record label and cultural organisation, Wantok supports artists, mentors, and cultural workers, creating pathways for stories and songs to move from local ground to regional and international audiences.