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New wave breaks at Folk By The Sea
by Nick Hartgerink
TN163 June 24
Folk By The Sea’s new Festival Director, Neil McCann, is promising that a new wave of folk performers will light up the stages at the annual folk festival at Kiama Showground on September 20-22.
The festival will feature 44 acts performing 100 concerts at nine venues over the three days.
“There’s a new a new generation of folk festival performers coming to Kiama in this line up.
They are generally classically trained and are setting a new standard for folk music, taking it to a new level and a new audience,” McCann said.
“Acts like Eric Avery (Marrawuy), a violinist, vocalist, dancer and composer from the Ngiyampaa, Yuin and Gumbangirr people of NSW.
“He is gaining an international reputation.
“He works with his family’s custodial songs and his haunting compositions often feature him playing violin while singing, predominantly in the Ngiyampaa language,” Neil said.
“I am so looking forward to seeing Eric perform live.
“I have only seen him on YouTube and he is amazing.
“Apolline, from Victoria, describe themselves as genre bending neo-folk.
They have incredible musicianship with innumerable instruments and alluring voices.
“Expect foot-stomping sets of original songs.
“And Queensland group, Cigany Weaver, with front woman Jo Davie’s soaring vocals and enchanting demeanour combining beautifully with the band’s fiery violin, dynamic guitars and driving rhythm section are a must see act.”
Neil said Folk By The Sea had attracted performers from around Australia, including Folk By The Sea favourites, Indigenous singer-songwriter, Shellie Morris from Queensland, and Canberra’s diplomat turned folk singer, Fred Smith, who will be performing with his band.
Kiama resident and respected music critic, Bruce Elder, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, once described Fred Smith as “simply the best folk/country musician working in this country…beyond writing some of the finest songs about Australians at war, he has created a repertoire that is wry, literate, witty, powerfully emotional and insightful.”
Fred and band will be presenting songs from his rich back catalogue and his new album.
Early bird three-day passes at $100 are available until July 30 at www.folkbythesea.com.au
The full festival line-up is: Allan Stone, Antipodeans, Apolline, Broken Creek, Bruce Watson, Carefree Road Band, Cigany Weaver, Cymbrogi, Eric Avery (Marrawuy), Fred Smith, Glover & Sorrensen, Hedy Blaazer, Isobel Knight, Jessica Allen, John Fegan, Kelly Brouhaha, Kiama Pipe Band, Kiama Sea Shanty Club, Marco and Rusty, Mariah McCarthy, Mike Martin, Penny Hartgerink, Peter Willey, Pirritu, Rare Birdz, Redfern Shanty Club, Rheinberger and Wilson, Robyn Sykes, Shellie Morris, Southern Cross Bush Band and Friends, The Bottlers, The Con Artists, The Don’t Be Too Polite Girls, The Gleaners, The Groove, The Other Noonans, The Pie Eaters and, Tribal Jewels Dance Co.
International troubadour Enda Kenny heads Folk by the Sea line-up
Melbourne-based Irish folk singer and acclaimed international troubadour Enda Kenny will perform three times at Kiama’s Folk By The Sea festival on September 22-24.
Kenny, who has toured the UK, Germany and New Zealand this year, heads an eclectic program of folk, Celtic, Bluegrass and world music, sea shanties, comedy, poetry and folk dancing for the three-day festival. Folk By The Sea returns to pre-Pandemic scale with close to 40 acts performing in seven venues in its traditional home, the Kiama Showground, the neighbouring Kiama Anglican Church, and Kiama Bowling Club.
The Illawarra Folk Club, which stages the annual seaside festival, has released the program for this year’s event, with the ticketed section kicking off at 5pm on Friday evening and continuing until 4.30pm on the Sunday afternoon. The festival will wind up on Sunday evening with the Final Shindig, at Kiama Bowling Club from 5-9pm, hosted by Nick Rheinberger and Tia Wilson.
The ever-popular Kenny will perform at 7.30pm on Friday, 4.30pm on Saturday and 3.30pm on Sunday.
Other program highlights include three performances by the award-winning duo of Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser performing as We Mavericks, and three from South Coast performer Felicity Dowd, who will also conduct a song-writing workshop on Saturday afternoon.
Festival Artistic Director David De Santi said the festival would also feature highly acclaimed performers from interstate including L J Parks (Tasmania), John Ralph (Western Australia), Fly Little Sparrow (Queensland) and a swag of artists from Victoria, including Todd Cook and Corn Nut Creek.
Saturday night’s mainstage concert “Voices of our Indigenous Folk” will feature the Illawarra’s Gumaraa Aboriginal Experience and two First Nations acts from Victoria – singer-songwriter Pirritu and Microwave Jenny duo Tessa Neku and Brendan Boney, whose music is a fusion of folk, pop and jazz.
Kiama favourites Cha Cha del mar and The Water Runners will also be performing multiple times over the weekend, and both are part of the Final Shindig at the bowling club on Sunday evening.
World music will be well represented with East and West from Queensland, Alijamia, Mad Kelpie Playmate, Scroggin and Wollongong’s own Con Artists.
A special feature will be Russell Churcher’s tribute show for Gordon Lightfoot, the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter who died in May this year.
“Folk by the Sea not only has an amazing array of folk talent and Indigenous voices but lots of participative events – especially shanty singing,” De Santi said. “There will be plenty of opportunities to be part of the action, or alternatively sit back and enjoy wonderful folk singing and playing.”
Tickets are available at https://folkbythesea.com.au/tickets with an Early Bird three-day pass available at $95 ($20 discount) until September 15. Other prices: Friday evening – $40; Saturday – $75; Sunday – $60. Concessions for children and youth.
PERFORMERS: Aljamia, Cha Cha del mar, Chloe & Jason Roweth, Corn Nut Creek, East of West, Enda Kenny, Felicity Dowd, Fly Little Sparrow, Frankie & Albert, Gumaraa, John Ralph, Kiama Pipe Band, Kiama Sea Shanty Club, LJ Parks, Mad Kelpie Playmates, Microwave Jenny, Nerida Cuddy, Peter Willey, Pirritu, Redfern Shanty Club, Remembering John Dengate, Rheinberger & Wilson, Robyn Sykes, Russell Churcher – Gordon Lightfoot Tribute, Rusty & The Saint, Sarah Humphreys, Scroggin, Southern Cross Bush Band, Stonybroke, The Con Artists, The Fallen Robins, The Water Runners, Todd Cook, Tony and Helen Romeo, Tribal Jewels Dance Co, We Mavericks, Wil Linder.
Issued by Honorary Publicity Officer Nick Hartgerink (0418 424085)
For further information, contact David De Santi on 0409 571788
Folk by the Sea features indigenous voices
by Nick Hartgerink
TN 156 July 23
The 2023 Folk By The Sea festival in Kiama, presented by the Illawarra Folk Club on September 22-24, will feature a “Voice of First Nations Folk” concert with leading Indigenous artists, as a lead-in for the Australian Government’s referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to be held later in the year.
Festival Artistic Director, David De Santi, said Indigenous performers had made an enormous contribution to Australian cultural life, including folk music, and the festival organising committee wanted to celebrate that.
The “Voice” concert will feature the Gumaraa Aboriginal Experience, First Nations singer-songwriter Pirritu and Microwave Jenny – Indigenous duo Tessa Neku and Brendan Boney, whose music is a fusion of folk, pop and jazz.
“We are proud to be celebrating Indigenous music and Indigenous culture at Folk By The Sea,” David said.
“The referendum on the Voice to Parliament will be held after our festival, and so this is our contribution to the debate.
“The Illawarra Folk Club has always sought to showcase Indigenous performers at our events and feels that this year’s “Voice” feature will add a rich extra dimension to Folk By The Sea[i].”
This year’s festival will return to pre-Pandemic scale with 35 acts performing in seven venues in its traditional home, the Kiama Showground, the neighbouring Kiama Anglican Church and Kiama Bowling Club.
Melbourne-based Irish singer-songwriter Enda Kenny heads an eclectic program of folk, Celtic, Bluegrass and world music, sea shanties, comedy, poetry and folk dancing for the three-day festival.
The line-up ranges from the award-winning duo of Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser performing as We Mavericks, to a large contingent of female artists including Corn Nut Creek from Victoria, Felicity Dowd from the NSW South Coast, Fly Little Sparrow from Queensland, L J Parks from Tasmania, Sarah Humphreys and the Fallen Robins, as well as Kiama favourites, Cha Cha Del Mar and The Water Runners, with their songs of the South Coast.
World music will be well represented with East and West from Queensland, Alijamia, Mad Kelpie Playmate, Scroggin and Wollongong’s own Con Artists.
A special feature will be Russell Churcher’s tribute show for Gordon Lightfoot, the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter who died in May this year.
Ticket are available at https://folkbythesea.com.au/tickets.
Three-day pass – $115; Friday evening – $40; Saturday – $75; Sunday – $60.
Concessions for children and youth.
Third time lucky as Folk By The Sea returns
by Nick Hartgerink
Published in T&N149 July 2022
Kiama’s Folk By The Sea music festival is back for the first time in three years, with a line-up including some of Australia’s leading folk performers announced for the two-day festival at the Kiama Pavilion on September 23-24.
Illawarra Folk Club Artistic Director, David De Santi, said the club was delighted to be able to stage the festival in 2022, after the 2020 and 2021 events were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s line-up of more than 20 acts features talented Indigenous performer, Shellie Morris, from Queensland, the influential singer-songwriter, Judy Small, from Victoria, powerhouse folk-bluegrass band, The Button Collective, Victoria Celtic band, Saoirse, soulful Tasmanian singer, Daniel J Townsend, Sydney’s spicey tango-folk band, Chutney, the Redfern Shanty Club and local Kiama favourites, The Water Runners and Penny Hartgerink.
“It is just so good to be planning a folk festival again.
“All the performers are just itching to get back to what they love doing, and I am sure that music fans will feel the same,” De Santi said.
“Folk By The Sea had built up a great tradition in Kiama, and we were devastated that we had to cancel for the past two years.
“Fortunately, most of the performers that we had booked for last year’s cancelled festival are available for this year’s dates, so it was very much a matter of keeping faith with the performers and our audience by keeping to a very similar line-up.
“We are so happy to be back putting on a great line-up for this year’s return.
“Judy Small, for example, is an absolute icon and one of the most influential singer/songwriters that Australia has produced, known for her protest songs,” he said.
“With 12 albums and having written hundreds of songs, Judy is known as the Grande Dame of Australian folk music and we are so fortunate to have her at our festival.”
The Water Runners singer-songwriter, John Littrich, echoed De Santi’s excitement about being able to perform again.
His band has performed at Tamworth Country Music Festival and other major events around the country, but Littrich says they love to return home and perform in Kiama.
“Folk By The Sea has special meaning for us.
“It’s our local festival and it was the first festival we ever played at,” Littrich said.
“It hasn’t been able to run since 2019 and so we are really looking forward to being part of it this year, playing our music and mixing with other musicians and members of the ‘folk’ family.”
Littrich said there was a bittersweet element, after the passing in February of long-time festival organiser, Rod Cork.
“Rod was such a big part of the festival, but I know that he’ll be there in spirit,” Littrich said.
The festival will be held on the evening of Friday September 23, with day and evening sessions on Saturday, September 24.
Tickets and the full program are available on the Folk By The Sea website www.folkbythesea.com.au
The full festival lineup is: Amie Grisold (Vic), The Button Collective, Chutney, The Con Artists, Dale Dengate & Bush Songs from A Woman’s Perspective, Daniel Kelly, Daniel J Townsend (Tas), the dixie chOOks (Vic), Fiddledance, Jane Brownlee & Sam De Santi, John Tubridy & The Carefree Road Band, Judy Small (Vic), Kiama Pipe Band, Linda Mizzi Trio, Penny Hartgerink, Redfern Shanty Club, Robyn Sykes, Rusty & Friends, Saoirse (Vic), Shellie Morris (Qld), Stonybroke, and The Water Runners.
