Roach, who was earlier this year was honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to music and social justice, will share the stage with indigenous rapper Adam Briggs and Emma Donovan.

The Murrun Dhelk Concert is part of this year’s football and netball carnival, which will be held in Bendigo for the first time from October 17 to 18.

An initiative of Victorian Aboriginal Youth Sport and Recreation, the carnival takes place in a different location every year and celebrates indigenous culture, talent and traditions.

This year’s event, hosted by the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) and Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, is expected to attract more than 3000 competitors and spectators.

More than 50 teams will take part in a series of football and netball matches at the Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve.

Not only is the carnival being held in Bendigo for the first time, it is the first time a team representing the city will take part in the football competition.

The Bendigo team, comprising a sprinkling of talent from the Bendigo, Loddon Valley and Heathcote District League, will contest an eight-team B grade competition.

BDAC chief executive officer Raylene Harradine said the carnival was more than a sports competition.

“For more than 30 years, it has been bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities together and giving us a chance to reconnect, exchange ideas and strengthen our relationships,” Ms Harradine said.

“It hasn’t run for about three years, so we want to re-establish it as one of Victoria’s biggest indigenous events and continue to break down barriers and showcase our vibrant culture to the wider community.”

Highlights of the carnival will include the concert and Koorie Night Market (KNM), which will both be held at the Ulumbarra Theatre on Saturday night.

“It is very exciting to have three of Australia’s most influential indigenous artists – each talented in their own right – performing in Bendigo,” she said.

Roach, 60, has enjoyed nearly three decades on the Australian music scene.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of his debut solo album Charcoal Lane. 

The ARIA award-winning album featured the much-loved song Took the Children Away, which tells the story of how Roach was forcibly removed from his family as part of the stolen generation.

Adam Briggs – known simply as Briggs – is a hip-hop artist from Shepparton, Victoria. 

The 29-year-old has released one EP and two albums, The Blacklist and Sheplife, and this year created a sequel to Roach's Took the Children Away.

Singer-songwriter Emma Donovan began her career at the age of seven when she sang with her uncles in Aboriginal country band The Donovans. 

The roots and soul musician continues to join ensemble bands such as The Black Arm Band and Barefoot Divas, and has embarked on a new collaboration with Melbourne-based band The Putbacks.