Plenty to see and do at Newstead

by Pete James Wreford Dawson

 TN169 Mar 25

The Newstead Live Music Festival on Dja Dja Wurrung Country near Castlemaine kicked off on Friday, January 24, with the vivacious Girl Friday & The Sepia Tones at the outdoor Troubadour venue.

Half an hour later, local lad, Grim Fawkner, took the stage at the air-conditioned Community Centre for a tight bluesy set, as he had won the Live & Local Studio Award 2024.

Another local, Maggie Rigby of The Maes, played an emotive show at the Troubadour later in the evening, and the rather blunt way she started her composition, ‘Best Love in the Universe’ made the audience sit up and take notice.

With five main festival stages and two free stages, Live & Local and the Courtyard, plus several tiny venues scattered about for workshops and instrument displays, the little town was full of festive splendour.

Saturday dawned and Live & Local gave up and coming artists a chance to strut their stuff in public, and a chance of winning a ‘proper’ gig at the following year’s festival.

Last year, it was Sage Roadknight with her delicate style that won the opportunity to perform on all the main stages, while this time it was Jeremy Beggs who scored a gig in 2026 and Bendigo band, Funkle, were winners of the Studio Award.

Zoe From Earth’s eclectic repertoire and the bluesy sound of Andrew Borg made for some quality entertainment, with Jeremy Beggs taking the gong this year, so look out for him on the bill in 2026.

In the Courtyard, Vox Mundi played a very energetic set in several languages and for an eleven year old lad, he is looking at a brilliant future as a musician.

He later jammed with Mal & Kylie in the Courtyard, adding two more professional musicians, including Jan Wositzky, Tenzin Choegyal and Neil Murray, that have mentored the young fellah.

From Clunes, Talbot, Ballarat and Castlemaine came a band of young teenagers calling themselves Rent Is Due, that played their premier public performance with a handful of solid rock covers.

The kindergarten is renamed Lilliput for the duration and Saturday arvo was an assortment of artists on the bill, including the sultry Vanessa Estrada who blended the Chilean traditions learned in her birthplace with contemporary rhythms.

Les Thomas, a Melbourne singer of heartfelt, emotive stories, followed her and was accompanied by the very tasteful guitarist, Josh Jones.

Destined to become a classic is Les’ limerick, ‘The Ghost Of Melbourne City’ a tongue-in-cheek tale of chicanery in the dark streets.

Then the wild and passionate duo of Mal Webb & Kylie Morrigan took the tiny stage blasting out with trumpets, trombones, fiddles and other stringed instruments.

Despite handing the organisation of the main outdoor Troubadour venue to the festival some time ago, elders of the folk world Andrew and Heather Pattison were in attendance, as Andrew is still the MC.

That evening the Troubadour featured Karlo Arc, a sincere songwriter originally from the Philippines, hard folkers Whiskey Dram, singing some searing sea shanties, plus Tim Scanlan & Mana Okuba, a dynamic duo playing fast and furious ditties on guitar and fiddle.

On January 26, several of us debunked to Djaara Park in Castlemaine for the Survival Day concert featuring that smooth operator, Kutcha Edwards, a previous participant in Newstead Live.

Sunday was a pretty warm day, but the shuttle bus made it easy for punters to get around to the venues spread out around the town.

To help counter the heat, a pool party was scheduled with three acts, including Mal Webb & Kylie Morrigan who finished their show by leaping in the pool and playing an aquatic number.

Monday morning, I caught another set by Les Thomas at the Community Centre and he invited Trudy Fatnowna Edgeley to join him and Josh on a new composition, ‘Never Be Silenced’.

Trudy comes from Far North Queensland and is of Yidinji & Malaita origin and released her debut album, ‘I Am Here’ in 2024, which encompassed her family’s history.

Festival director, Kelly Skinner, was happy with the long weekend’s activities and was especially happy that people enjoyed the free Live & Local and Courtyard gigs, as they give people a taste of the festival proper.

It is also a great way to discover new talent!

 

The wonderful folk in Newstead will welcome you

by Kelly Skinner

TN167 Dec 24

Newstead Live Music Festival is a small festival in a small town in Central Victoria.

The festival is run in a number of venues in the township, mostly within walking distance, but a shuttle bus runs from morning to midnight to get you where you want to go.

The musical offering is varied, ranging from the regular favorites like Enda Kenny and Greg Champion, to new sensations like Bush Gothic and new discoveries like Sam Fletcher.

For something borrowed we have Steve Turner from the UK and The Pairs from Canada.

In 2025, we are featuring three themed presentations that look back to the history of folk and roots music.

The first of those is Pioneers, where Keith McKenry and friends pay tribute to our pioneering field collectors of the 40s, 50s and 60s.

The second is Immortal where Bruce Watson presents and leads discussion on his video project celebrating Australia’s folk legends from the Folk Revival of the 50s and 60s up to today.

Expect to see some special guests on stage with him.

The third presentation will be Sweet Harmonies of the 70s.

Here, Greg Champion, Jane Saunders and Margie Russell showcase the songs of Bonnie Rait, Linda Rondstadt, Emmy-Lou Harris and others of that era.

We have doubled the number of workshops and this year that includes two workshops on English step dancing with Coral Reid.

The Makers Gallery features instrument makers on display in the Newstead Arts Hub Gallery at the old railway station, with Made & Played on the Platform, where selected performers showcase the instruments of one of the makers.

The Live’n’Local stage in the street is a favourite, featuring acts not appearing on the main bill, the emphasis being on local artists, especially the young up and coming.

The Troubadour tent will be there with Andrew Pattison at the helm and his Burke & Wills wines available at the bar.

There’s a lot to pack in to the 3 days and 3 nights of this beautiful little festival.

The wonderful folk in this tiny town welcome you!

 

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue at Newstead

by Kelly Skinner

TN158 P31

The appeal of a folk festival may start with the performers, but it goes far beyond that.

When you come to Newstead Live, on January 25-28, you feel welcome to Newstead!

The centre of Newstead, in country Victoria, its footy ground, Dig café, The Crown Hotel, The Country Store, the swimming pool and a chunk of the side street are all ready to welcome the hundreds of people who come to town.

There is plenty of opportunity to catch up with every act as all forty acts have 3 or 4 sets over the duration, playing at a different venue each time.

So, there’s plenty of time to catch up with old friends, make new festival friends, join in the sessions, play at a blackboard concert and enjoy some of the delicious food and yummy coffees available.

The core of the festival is the performers, and at Newstead Live, we curate the acts to appeal to a variety of folk, and to give them a range of experiences.

I like to think of it as something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

For 2024, we have a few favorites, like Greg Champion and Dingo’s Breakfast.

For something new, we have Austral, the young Celtic band from Melbourne, and Apolline, the most talked about newcomers to the festival in 2023.

Also new are some fresh acts on the scene waiting for you to discover.

We have borrowed acts from the UK, look out for Good Habits and Winter Wilson.

Also borrowed is Tio from Vanuatu, an energetic and charismatic singer in his own language.

For something blue, the tried and true JoJo Smith will bring you her mixture of blues, sole, funk, R&B, Latin and jazz.

Look out also for some roving and street performers, Red Raven Morris and the Woodend Warblers.

Bring your instruments and your voice, don’t forget to bring your togs for a dip in the pool, and be assured we have air-conditioning and misters in place to keep you cool for our midsummer festival.

A weekend ticket is only $150, that’s about $3.75 per act!

What value!

Get yours now at www.newsteadlive.com.au