Charlie Mgee
Musician/Songwriter
Country: Australia
Cohort: CCL Australia 2023
"At this point in time, we urgently need accessible, effective communication around the climate crisis that reaches deep into our collective humanity. Creative practices and the arts are the best tools we have for bringing about the kind of cultural shift that's required."
About
Charlie Mgee is a songwriter, ukulele-player, permaculture educator and founder of the world-renowned ecological funk/swing band, Formidable Vegetable. Growing up in a tin shed with a veggie garden, rainwater tank and one solar panel for power in the south-west of Western Australia, Charlie lived the low-impact life from a young age, with a composting toilet, chickens for entertainment and the basic requirements for a simple, happy existence.
Formidable Vegetable’s music has since garnered acclaim from the UN FAO, who praised the band for writing about the ‘important issues of our time’, made it onto the stages at Glastonbury Festival alongside such acts as Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry and The Rolling Stones and has inspired much regenerative community action at events around the world.
Project Highlights
Micro Biome – Album
Formidable Vegetable’s seventh studio album, Micro Biome, was awarded Best Album and Best Music Video at the 2023 MMMA Childrens Music Awards – up against Play School and The Wiggles! The album introduces kids to an ecological worldview with a focus on the microbial and beyond-human world, celebrating the small things that can have a big impact.
18-Month Community Gardens & Permaculture Farms Tour
In 2022 & 2023, Formidable Vegetable embarked on a national tour to launch their two albums ‘In Real Life’ and ‘Micro Biome’, performing almost exclusively at regenerative farms, community gardens, council-run eco-events & festivals. The tour made it to every state and territory except the NT, including performing 123 shows and the delivery of 4 permaculture design courses. Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke got up and did a guitar solo with the band at Woodford Folk Festival and claimed it was one of the highlights of his time in office.
Project Gallery
