PARRAMATTA River will come alive this Saturday as Riverbeats, the city’s annual arts festival, bursts into life with the free Riverbeats Live concert.

Reflections of last year's Riverbeats on Parramatta River. Pictures: PHIL BLATCH

Internationally-renowned musicians will take to the stage as part of a spectacular multimedia show held on the river.

The night will kick off with a procession of more than 100 percussionists called the Big Bang Drumming Ensemble, made up of drummers representing the rhythmic traditions of different cultures found within the area.

The drummers will lead the way down Church St to the Riverbanks to open Riverbeats Live, before Synergy Percussion’s latest project, Moth, continue the performance with blended layers of percussion, acoustic and electronic instruments.

Their rhythmic concoctions will be combined with emotive haiku poetry from local and international writers, recited by local children and projected across the water.

Following Moth, The Translators will provide their unique mix of flamenco and jazz, augmented by didgeridoo, tabla, saxophone and percussion virtuosos.

AFI-award winning artists Decoder Ring will be next on stage, producing a special live take on their recently-released double album, a complex work which masterfully straddles electric and organic sound textures.

Riverbeats Live will conclude with a melding of jazz and world music from the Blenders, led by the festival’s music director Dale Barlow, one of Australia’s most respected jazz musicians. Barlow has declared this year’s musical selection to be symbolic of the cultural diversity in the Parramatta region, with hybrid performances that incorporate a full spectrum of global, contemporary musical styles. Parramatta City Council presents the headline event of the two-week Riverbeats festival, which Lord Mayor Paul Garrard said was part of the council’s commitment to demonstrating the river as a natural asset and supporting the creative industries. “Riverbeats ‘09 is such an outstanding showcase of Parramatta Council’s plan to provide more opportunities for international and local artists to flourish and to support Parramatta as a thriving cultural centre,” Cr Garrard said.

Preceding the concert, visitors can enjoy a delicious array of international cuisine at Eats B4 Riverbeats on Church St, with restaurants collaborating to get cars out of the famous ‘Eat Street’ zone of central Parramatta to make way for a feast of diverse dishes and pre-event activity.

* Riverbeats Live is on Saturday at Parramatta River, near the Lennox St bridge from 6.45 to 10pm