A Skunkworks Community Project
Archer
Love Songs from The Divine Church of the Open Sky
What happens when one of Australia's most distinctive storytellers meets the sound of a brass band?
Love Songs from The Divine Church of the Open Sky is a bold music project bringing acclaimed Australian songwriter, performer and storyteller Archer Broughton together with brass bands and communities across Victoria.
Archer's songs are unmistakably Australian — raw, funny, tender and deeply connected to people, place and landscape. For this project, his music is being reimagined for brass band by acclaimed composer, arranger and trumpeter Dr Eugene Ball, creating a meeting point between contemporary Australian songwriting and one of our oldest community music traditions.
Managing the project is Mark Grose of Big Mabel Management, bringing his extensive experience in artist management and the Australian music industry to the project, with Skunkworks Community coordinating the partnerships, musicians, workshops and performances that bring the idea to life.
Project Details
- Songwriter & Performer
- Archer Broughton
- Arranger
- Dr Eugene Ball
- Project Management
- Mark Grose, Big Mabel Management
- Coordination
- Skunkworks Community Limited
- Tour Period
- 2026–2028
- Region
- Regional Victoria
Where It All Began
The project first came to life when Archer joined Glenferrie Brass at Melbourne's iconic Brunswick Ballroom — bringing his songs, stories and unmistakable Australian voice together with the power and warmth of a live brass band.
That first gig showed just how special the combination could be.
The idea was then developed further through a collaboration with Creswick Brass Band at CresFest 2026, where local musicians became an integral part of the performance rather than simply sharing the bill.
The success of these collaborations demonstrated something important: community bands are extraordinary cultural resources. They contain generations of musical knowledge, volunteers, teachers, young players, lifelong musicians and people deeply connected to their towns.
Now We're Taking It Across Victoria
With support of a grant from the Australian Government through Regional Arts Australia, delivered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria, the project is now expanding into a regional Victorian tour running across 2026–2028.
Rather than taking a finished metropolitan production into regional towns, Love Songs from The Divine Church of the Open Sky is being created with regional musicians and communities.
Seven Bands. Seven Communities. One Big Collaboration.
The project will engage brass bands across Victoria. Each collaboration gives local musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside professional artists, explore newly created arrangements and present the music to their own community.
And every performance will be a little different — because every band, town and community brings its own sound and personality.
Where Skunkworks Community Comes In
This project sits at the heart of what Skunkworks Community was created to do.
We don't want to build musical silos. We want to build connections.
Skunkworks works behind the scenes to connect professional artists, community ensembles, regional organisations and musicians who might otherwise never have the opportunity to work together.
For the Archer project, that means coordinating participating bands, supporting workshops and rehearsals, helping manage regional performances and ensuring the project leaves something meaningful behind after the final note.
The aim isn't simply to tour a show around Victoria. It's to use the tour to create new relationships, new repertoire, new experiences and new audiences — while recognising the extraordinary network of volunteer musicians and community bands that already exists throughout Victoria.
Great music doesn't only belong in concert halls. Sometimes it belongs in a country town hall, with a brass band behind it and an entire community in the room.
Get Involved
Whether you're a musician, a band, a venue or simply someone who loves great Australian music — we'd love to hear from you.