Category: Festivals

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Murlocs & Lucy Dacus Headline Boutique By the Meadow Festival

Summer festival season is in full swing. I can never resist catching at least one, although I always approach them with a certain degree of trepidation. You just never know whether the date you’ve booked will be a scorcher. That’s why a festival like By the Meadow 6 makes so much sense. The three-day, two-night music extravaganza hits Bambra from March 29 to 31, once the weather cools a bit!

The event won’t skimp on musical talent though. The Murlocs, Lucy Dacus, Clea, Merpire, and a host of other quality acts have just joined the bill, which already featured The Goon Sax, Collarbones, and Thando. The event is also BYO, so you don’t need to worry about missing bands because you’re stuck in a drinks queue. If your stash gets low, you can also purchase craft beers from Salt Brewing and local Otway Hinterlands wines on site. The pop-up food stalls will also showcase the area’s premium produce. This is a summer festival done right.

General release tickets and camping and glamping packages are on sale now from the By the Meadow 6 website.

Image used with permission from This Much Talent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Northern Folk Play Festivals For “Cold”

I was sure I must have written about “Cold,” the latest single from Melbourne 10-piece The Northern Folk, before. It’s such a cool song, a little brooding with stellar vocals and one of the best sax breaks you’ll hear. It’s so good that they sold out Northcote Social Club when they launched it. Yet I searched my archives and nothing. So I apologise for the oversight.

Now with the release of the clip’s music video, it seems a perfect time to correct my mistake. It was created by celebrated director and producer Mark Day in close collaboration with The Northern Folk. The band star alongside Michael Nikou and Tanya Alers is the clip which represents human consciousness in all its dark, flawed beauty.

“’Cold’ is about the insecurities that tie us down for fear of the unknown, and the emotional distance they create. Shot in the sparse Riverina landscape, a couple find themselves confronted by the manifestations of their insecurities, and must make the choice to be led by them, or to reject them and take control of what they want to be,” the band explains.

Fresh from Woodford and in fine form, The Northern Folk will play a swag of great festivals over the coming months. Here are all the places you can catch them.

25 – 28 January 2019 – Newstead Live Music Festival, Newstead
10 February 2019 – St Kilda Festival, St Kilda
15 – 17 March 2019 – Blue Mountains Music Festival, Katoomba
29 – 31 March 2019 – The Hills Are Alive Festival, South Gippsland

Image used with permission from This Much Talent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Scene & Heard Bring 90s and 00s Greats to Newcastle This November

We’re so connected to our phones and the internet these days that it’s a strange thing to go off the grid as I do on a cruise ship. We get a little news of the outside world in a one-page paper, but essentially we’re in a bubble. One thing we miss is the concert announcements. Good for my budget, bad for my blog. So just in case you missed it too, I wanted to put Scene & Heard on your radar.

This is a brand new music festival making me all nostalgic. For starters, it’s got a dream line-up of local late nineties and early naughties favourites including The Living End, Spiderbait, Killing Heidi, Something for Kate, and Sneaky Sound System. Then there’s the venue, Wickham Park, an old stomping ground for this blogger. I might live on the Central Coast now, but as anyone who grew up in Newie knows, once you’re a Novocastrian you’re always a Novocastrian.

A classic car display and vintage vinyl fair will ramp up the nostalgia on the day. Enjoy these and the music while you’re knocking back craft beers, bespoke cocktails, and delicious food truck fare.

Scene & Heard hits Newcastle’s Wickham Park on November 4. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours soon, because with a line-up this good it’s bound to sell out.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Damien Dempsey Headlining Sydney Irish Festival

I’ve got a fairly lengthy travel bucket list, but Ireland is right at the top. I have fantasies of drinking amazing ales in rowdy pubs and seeing the next big musicians before they break. Not to mention that hearing an Irish accent makes me weak at the knees. If you’re as besotted with Ireland as I am, you’ll want to get to the 2018 Magners Sydney Irish Festival this November.

You can expect a healthy dose of Irish culture, with amazing food and drink, competitive hurling, and music. The incomparable Damien Dempsey will headline. I saw him perform with Glen Hansard a few years back and he knocked my socks off. Speaking of, after binge-listening to his new album, I am crossing my fingers Glen might be part of the forthcoming artist announcements. Organisers, please make it happen! We’ll also enjoy traditional Irish music from Lúnasa and the celebrated “atmosfolk” of Saint Sister. The festival is set to be great fun for all ages, with face painting, amusement rides, and kids activities as well.

The Magners Sydney Irish Festival hits Sydney Olympic Park on November 10 and 11. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketmaster.

Image used with permission from Ferris Davies PRM

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

’90s Bands Rule at Stones Corner Festival

The organisers of the Stones Corner Festival has assembled a killer line-up featuring plenty of your ‘90s faves for its fifth year, with Custard, The Mavis’s, Screamfeeder, and Diana Anaid all set to rock the Brisbane suburb this May. They’ll be joined by Shag Rock, Eliza & The Delusionas, The Brains Trust, and heaps more.

Local craft breweries, wineries, and food trucks will also be on hand to keep the punters happy.

Best of all, entry will only cost you a gold coin donation to MND Australia. Your contribution will help fund Motor Neurone Disease research and prevention strategies. It all happens from 10 am on Sunday May 6 at outside Stones Corner Hotel.

Image used with permission from Call & Response

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Troy Kemp Headlining New Country Festival in Wauchope

From my recollection, there’s not a lot at Wauchope. When my family passed through we enjoyed checking out Timbertown and probably had a great pub meal, but I can’t remember it having a lot of entertainment options. So the locals will no doubt be thrilled to hear a brand new country music will hit Wauchope this August.

Troy Kemp will headline the first annual Coastal Country Music Festival Wauchope, which will also feature Josh Setterfield, The Trade Ins, Rusted, Blake O’Connor, and Emma Dykes. There’ll also be plenty of American-style food and even a mechanical bull to keep the crowds entertained.

Festival founder AJ Davis says she “wanted to create a country music experience in our region that celebrates music, our incredible community and everything they mean to each other. The country feel and character of Wauchope is the perfect setting for the Coastal Country Music Festival and the fact that I grew up in Wauchope, makes it that little bit more special.”

The Coastal Country Music Festival hits Wauchope County Club on August 4. Tickets are on sale now from Eventbrite.

Image used with permission from RAWR Music

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Female Voices On Show at WOW Festival in Queensland

Strong female voices will be celebrated in Queensland this April as part of the WOW (Women of the World) Festival. The Queensland-based event features an outstanding arts program culminating with a special edition of Queensland Music Festival’s Songs That Made Me show at QPAC’s Concert Hall on April 8.

The show features performers from all corners of the Commonwealth including ShoShona Kish from Canadian duo Digging Roots, Fijian Queen of Pop Laisa Lualala Vulakoro, and our own Clare Bowditch, Deborah Conway, and Emily Wurramara.

“The energetic WOW program will be full of fun and laughter with serious reflection for women and girls, men and boys from all walks of life, ages and nationalities, with Songs That Made Me as a glittering and inspiring finale in the Concert Hall at QPAC,” confirmed Cathy Hunt, WOW’s Australian executive producer.

“Music is a deeply personal experience, but the themes and feeling it elicits are universal. Hearing from musicians about what music has moved them will not just be interesting, but uplifting and inspiring,” added John Kotzas, QPAC’s chief executive.

Tickets for Songs That Made Me and all other WOW Festival events are on sale now.

Image used with permission from Agency North

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Join Dallas Frasca on Tour With A Hitch to the Sticks Festival

If you’ve ever wanted to live the rock and roll lifestyle on a tour bus, now you get your chance thanks to Dallas Frasca’s revolutionary new music festival, A Hitch to the Sticks.

This unique band-tour-meets-VIP-experience will see 50 music fans spending three days on a regional tour bus with Dallas and some special guests including Nicky Bomba and Liv Cartledge. The bus leaves from Melbourne on March 16 and heads north to six secret locations and four public events across Violet Town, Lima, Myrrhee, Tatong, Thoona, Wangaratta, and Moyhu. I’ve got to admit, I haven’t even heard of half those places, so I assume they don’t get a lot of live music! Along the way, ticket holders will take part in a hedge maze “artist hunt” to find live local artists, a rock and roll slumber party, meet celebrity hitchhikers, and see a performance by a special international mystery guest.

There are still some bus tickets remaining as I write this, but since there are just 50 I don’t expect them to last long. If you miss out, you can catch up with Dallas and the passengers at the public events, like the Down by the River Festival in Wangaratta. Keep an eye on the A Hitch to the Sticks website for details of public event. Festival tickets are also available through the site.

Image credit: Mark Jesser. Used with permission from This Much Talent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Musos Mark Waltzing Matilda Centre Reopening in Winton

The Waltzing Matilda Centre was the world’s first museum dedicated to a song. However, sadly fire ravaged the unique Winton attraction in 2015. Now two years later and after $23 million worth of work, the Waltzing Matilda Centre is ready to welcome tourists again. Winton is celebrating the opening in style with a massive music festival, Way Out West Fest.

Organisers have assembled an impressive line-up of local and international talent. America’s Kip Moore and Lee Brice will play alongside Aussie stars Jessica Mauboy, John Williamson, The Living End, Sheppard, Busby Marou, Russell Morris, Pierce Brothers, and the Black Sorrows. And that’s just for starters, with more acts to be announced in the coming months. There’ll also be market stalls, a country race meeting, and much more.

“It’s a real honour to play with such a great line-up of stars for Winton’s Way Out West Fest,” said Jessica Mauboy. “’Waltzing Matilda’ is one of the icons of Australian folklore and the reopening of the Waltzing Matilda Centre will itself be a new chapter in the history of our nation. I can’t wait to share the occasion with the thousands who will come from all corners of Australia to celebrate with us.”

Way Out West Fest hits Winton from April 19 to 22. Tickets are on sale now.

Image used with permission from SGC Media

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

“Monday Night” – Jazz Party

Jazz is a genre that’s been watered down a lot over the years. Jazz festivals have become playgrounds for artists who could more accurately be described as blues or soul acts. You rarely hear musicians scatting any more. True jazz might not be popular anymore, but Melbourne’s Jazz Party don’t seem to care about that. On their debut album Monday Night, it sounds like they’re having far too much fun to consider the opinion of the masses.

This album will transport you to a retro New Orleans speakeasy. It’s got a fantastic, infectious energy about it. The band manages to play with an unbridled frenetic sound which seems spontaneous, yet they’re the tightest bunch of musicians you’re likely to hear. From the heavy-handed honky-tonky piano to the brassy horns section, everything is just where it should be. Songwriter and leader of the band of eight Darcy McNulty says recording Monday Night was the most fun he’s ever had in a studio, and that shows. From opening track “Want a Baby,” this album leads you to the dancefloor and twirls you around until your feet are sore. I love Darcy’s Harry Connick Jnr-esque vocals, but the tracks featuring the sassy, soulful Loretta Miller on lead are probably my favourites. She’s a revelation on numbers like “Sleep” and “Magic Man.”

Monday Night is released on November 3. Jazz Party will launch it with shows around the country. If the album’s any indication, anyone attending these shows are in for one hell of a time.

11 November 2017 – The Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne
16 November 2017 – The Flamin’ Galah, Brisbane
16-19 November 2017 – Mullum Music Festival, Mullumbimby
24-26 November 2017 – Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff
16-18 February 2018 – Riverboats Music Festival, Echuca-Moama