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A ripper of a lineup for Cobargo ‘24 by Zena Armstrong TN161 Feb 24 The Cobargo Folk Festival has an incredibly exciting program for its 2024 event. It’s a ripper with a top lineup of emerging and established folk and roots artists. Where to start? Joining Frank Yamma and David Bridie are The Bushwackers, their first time at Cobargo; Irish traditional fiddler, Manus McGuire, Curtis Eller from the US and the incomparable Kavisha Mazzella. We make special mention of Lisa O’Neill whose Australian tour is attracting huge critical acclaim. We are delighted that she is coming to Cobargo. We are also hosting the extraordinary Irish concertina player, Cormac Begley, Norwegian folk-rock band Gangar, who describe themselves as a folk band influenced by ACDC and Swedish metal bands, and Winter Wilson from the UK, whose beautiful harmonies and warm presence will bring a lovely vibe to our stages. We also have The Good Behaviours with Emily-Rose Sarkova and Holly Downes; Lucy Wise, who won 2023 Best Folk Work in Vic; Bega local, Fiona Boyes with her band The Fortune Tellers, folk legend Graham Dodsworth, plus the irrepressible Mic Conway and Robbie Long. The Tuck Shop Ladies are back by popular demand for everyone who heard about them but couldn’t get in to see them in 2023! We are delighted to welcome the multi-talented Michael “Mikelangelo” Simic presenting “Under the Influence”, with Shortis and Simpson and a top band. Described as a “wild ride” through Michael’s varied career and musical tastes, the show promises to be a riot of great music. Stonewave Taiko, led by former TaikOz drummer David Hewitt, will be with us cementing the Bega Valley’s reputation as a home for amazing percussion, and local band, Goldie, will get everyone up and dancing. Then there’s Pepper and Davies, Cigany Weaver, Ben Drysdale and Niall Howe, Sunday Lemonade, Riley Catherall, Zumpa, Sam Stevenson, Miriam Lieberman, the Jeff Gibson Trio, Gleny Rae and the Brass Razoos, Kejafi, Willy and the Correspondents, The Warrens, Ron Callaghan, the Whitetop Mountaineers (US), Rain of Animals….we want to mention everyone but we’re running out of room so do check out the full lineup in the poster in this edition. All artist details are on our website wwwcobargofolkfestival.com. This year, the festival is working closely with the Cobargo Community Access Centre, Bioluminescence, Sam’s Caravan and Renewable Cobargo to develop the skills of local young people in event lighting, stage management, sound production and many of the other tasks needed to put a successful festival together. We have plenty of session space for singers as well as musos, a new dance stage, an expanded Spoken Word program and a lively First Nations program. We hope you can join us in March. A weekend ticket is just $150 for almost three days of a genuine folk experience, emphasising live music, workshops, storytelling, and many memorable shared moments in the beautiful intimacy of the Bega Valley. It’s all delivered by a bunch of dedicated volunteers who care about folk.
Cobargo 2023 is much more than music by Peter Logue TN154 Feb 23 It’s been a tough few years for Cobargo and the NSW Far South Coast, but the Cobargo Folk Festival team has been working hard to put together an exceptional line-up for its first full sized festival since 2019 As most people know, the 2020 festival was cancelled because of the devastating bushfires that ravaged the area and 2021 was affected by the Covid Pandemic. In May 2022, organisers were able to put together a smaller festival that was well attended and which lifted the spirits of many in our community. The first weekend in March this year sees a return to a full sized festival with more than 50 acts, headlined by national folk icon Eric Bogle, and multi award winning Mutti Mutti singer/songwriter, Kutcha Edwards, and featuring such international folk legends as Martyn Wyndham-Reid, guitar virtuouso Tony McManus and an exciting young band from Brittany, Startijenn. Cobargo is highlighting its folk roots… Added to the musical performances, the Festival is thrilled to introduce KIDBARGO!, our revamped children’s festival; The Crossing Youth Tent; the First Nations’ Elders’ Tent, dances, poetry breakfasts and storytelling, music, singing and dance workshops for all, morning yoga and a brain challenging Ideas From the Edge program. There will also be a wide range of food and craft stalls, as well as our newly expanded bar area, where there’s plenty of room to social distance if you feel you need to. All of this in a most beautiful part of Australia, with some of the best beaches, restaurants and other attractions just a short drive away. What makes folk festivals different is that they are not simply about watching bands all day. There’s heaps to share, whether learning new things in workshops, joining in the picks and Sessions, or catching up with friends and family around the campsite. And when you attend community-based folk festivals you can be sure that you are directly supporting the performers, local service providers, local communities, providing local jobs and helping the ongoing development of local, regional and national music, art and culture. If you are looking for a special experience with your family and friends, or simply want to join a bunch of people having a heap of fun, then the 2023 Cobargo Folk Festival is for you. For more information go to www.cobargofolkfestival.com
Cobargo Folk Festival return was a moving experience by Richard Narbutas Published in T&N149 July 2022
Well I came upon a child of God, walking along the road. In Cobargo. And everywhere was a song and a celebration. And not before time.
Cobargo is an old dairy farming village with a population of about 800 people in the Bega valley in NSW. As you may remember, Cobargo was one of the villages ravaged by the bushfires of 2020. Just hours before dawn on New Year’s Eve 2019, people woke up to find fire raging through the town’s main street. Hundreds of properties across the district were damaged or destroyed and four people were dead. The community was left reeling. So in 2022, after one postponement and two cancellations, the Cobargo Folk Festival miraculously sprang to life on May 6th at the beautiful Cobargo Showgrounds. Originally imagined as a vague one day event, the enthusiasm for something good to happen morphed into a three day festival. The spruiking on the web page ended with “And we’re still keeping an eye out for any changes to Covid restrictions, more rain and the possibility of a locust plague or invasion by aliens.” Well, there was an invasion of sorts. People came from far and wide to enjoy the festivities and the perfect weather and the chance to show their support for the community. Superficially, life is pretty much back to normal, but, with respect, the mending of less obvious wounds may take time. Some 25 acts turned up to perform on three stages from Friday evening through to Sunday and oddly, Dave O’Neil seemed to be playing in half of them! There was music, food, the Poet’s Breakfast and market stalls, a variety of workshops, sessions playing in the bar area most of the time and the weather was glorious blue skies, if a little cool overnight. The views of valley and pasture were soothing, but the distant tree line of deadwood on the ridge tops served as a reminder of the past summer. And what a relaxed festival it was. No rushing around to get from one venue to the other and the times for performances were well spaced. The programme is still available on the Cobargo Folk Festival page. Some discussion occurred in regard to the genre of some of the bands playing, whether they “fit” into the folk music scene or not. One point of view may be to preserve the oral histories of the settlers against the likes of Bob Dylan on electric guitar. Others welcome a passing of the baton to a new generation of folk performers although the jury’s still out on the likes of 19-TWENTY and the mosh pit! One thing’s for certain, the times they are a-changing. With a minimum of fanfare, the Governor General, David Hurley, arrived on Sunday afternoon as guest of honour for the featured “Cobargo Concert”, which served as a public de-briefing of the events that befell the district in 2020. The Vice-regal couple came to watch the Cobargo Concert and show their continued support in the Cobargo and Quaama communities. Local performers, Felicity Dowd, Matt Preo and two pupils from Cobargo Public School performed songs they’d written following the Black Summer bushfires. Other songwriters and bands from further afield included Craigie Marsh, Shortis and Simpson and Jess Joy, June Tarlinton shared memories of her father, Ross Rixon, who lost his life during the fires. The Craigie Marsh band performed Bushman of Cobargo in dedication to Ross. Carly and Stella McMahon of Cobargo Public School shared how the school children coped with their experiences of Black Summer. The school produced a 14-track album and 40-page book titled, The Day She Stole The Sun. Also, Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund (CCBRF) vice-president, Deb Summer, announced the CCBRF had raised a staggering $800,000 to fund numerous recovery projects. When John Walters from Cobargo Rural Fire Service stepped on stage in his uniform, he was met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Mr Walters said that the local RFS were the ones the community relied on to help save Cobargo and surrounding districts during the Black Summer Fires. The last performance, “Garden of Eden”, was written by Kim Yang, who had been stranded in Eden during the Black Summer fires. Then, Governor General Hurley thanked Zena Armstrong, Chris Walters, Coral Vorbach from the Yuin Folk Club and Daniele Murphy from the Cobargo Bushfire Relief Centre for their combined leadership in bringing the festival together. The Governor General recognised the importance of the festival to a community who, throughout the pandemic, couldn’t even shake hands or give hugs of support to each other. And then a most remarkable thing happened. At the end of the Cobargo Concert, Her Excellency, Linda Hurley, welcomed the artists back on stage and asked all present to sing “You Are My Sunshine”. But there was a twist, in singing the second chorus, you were asked to look someone in the eyes and sing it to them. Your correspondent found this a quite uplifting moment. Smiles aplenty as many bashful attendees were confronted with looking their fellow audience members in the eyes as they sang. A wonderful assist in the healing. Well done Ma’am! When all’s said and done, it was a grass roots event, the community showing such spirit and determination to rise from the virtual ashes of a disaster. Got to get back to the land and set my soul free. It worked for me. |
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