Description
Camp and festival to bring music to Wirrina Cove
by John Yerxa
TN166 Oct 24
The hollows of Wirrina Cove, South Australia, will once again come alive with singing fiddles, ringing banjos and soaring harmonies in the third week of November.
The annual Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival will come to the Wirrina Cove Holiday Park from the 22nd through the 24th, with concerts, workshops, jam sessions and dances from Friday evening through Sunday.
Also, for the third year in a row, the Wirrina Music Camp will precede the festival, from Tuesday the 19th -Thursday the 21st.
This festival has developed a reputation for quality local, interstate and international acts, and this year is no exception.
Special guest artists from the USA are celebrated Cherokee Nation fiddler Nokosee Fields and guitarist Ryan Nickerson.
Local acts include perennial favorites Crooked Road, Fiddle We Must, and Sue Baker and the Sourdoughs, among many others.
We are also pleased to welcome Victorians Jonathan Ashley, The Cartwheels, and more.
As usual, from another part of the galaxy, will be the amazing Andrew Clermont.
The 2nd Annual Young Musicians Contest will be part of Saturday’s festivities, open to any person under 18 playing a stringed instrument and/or singing in the folk, bluegrass, or old-time style.
Prior to the festival, the Wirrina Music Camp will feature three days of intensive classes, workshops and jam sessions.
Nokosee and Ryan will teach classes on fiddle and guitar, respectively.
New instructors will be Chris Waite (Bass) and Josh Bennet (mandolin/guitar) while back by popular demand are Paul Cooper (banjo), and Sally Carter (ukulele).
There is plenty of camping available at the Holiday Park, and all activities will be on site.
This festival is entirely organised and run by volunteers, and more are always welcome.
If you would like to get involved and earn a free ticket, call on 0428 263 795.
For a complete list and bios of festival performers and camp instructors, along with registration and all other information, see the festival website at www.wirrinabluegrass.com.
See you there!
Powerful teaching lineup at Wirrina Music Camp prior to the festival
by Caz Williams and Thea Taylor
TN165 Sept 24
November is coming up again and it’s time to plan for Wirrina Music Camp and our Bluegrass & Acoustic Roots Festival too.
The music camp will be held at Wirrina Cove Holiday Park, SA, from November 19 to 21, followed by the festival from November 22-24.
We welcome Nokosee Fields and Ryan Nickerson from Louisiana, who have spent much of their lives learning musical traditions of southern Appalachia and the Midwest, as well as Early Blues and Cajun music.
Nokosee originally trained in orchestral/classical music, but came over to the traditional music side years ago, and has immersed himself in country, old time, and all manner of related forms.
He took first place at the Clifftop Fiddle Competition in 2019.
From here in Australia, we have a mix of new and familiar faces for the Festival weekend.
Golden Guitar winners The Cartwheels with Pete Fidler, The Good Questions featuring Alex Clermont, Gallic Guitars (from the Fleurieu Waldorf School), Adelaide Scottish Fiddle Club, the Burning Bridges from Melbourne’s old time, bluegrass and country revival scene, as well as Andrew Clermont’s Supper Club … with some new faces!
Saturday at the festival is starting to take shape as a Family Day, with the Young Musicians’ Contest for under 18s, young performers including the Gallic Guitars Ensemble, a Bush Dance workshop, and of course all the workshops and sessions are open to all ages.
As always, all tickets for under 18s are free.
This year we hold our 2nd Annual Young Musicians’ Contest, with prize money.
The contest returns for playing and/or singing traditional music, eg in string band traditions and other.
More information on www.wirrinabluegrass.com.
We are looking forward to building on last year, welcoming a range of young players and singers.
Contact us by email: wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com with expressions of interest/questions, or register on the day.
Please share with any young players, music teachers and such persons as may take an interest!
We want to continue it in the future, to we seek participants, supporters and potentially sponsors/donors for future contest funds and prizes.
There will be a wide range of workshops both Saturday and Sunday, as well as sessions led by various musicians.
Typically, this ranges from a taste of instrumental technique, through to singing shanties or gospel traditionals, all the way to traditional tunes from any given region.
We do treasure all the knowledge and experience that is shared by our community members!
Coming on board again for the 3 day Music Camp to teach banjo is Paul Cooper.
We also welcome for the first time Nokosee Fields (Fiddle) and Ryan Nickerson (old time guitar/early blues), as well as Josh Bennett (mandolin and guitar).
Please take this opportunity to come along and really stretch yourself for 3 days, then put it all into practice over the festival weekend.
Sally Carter also returns this year to rigorously instil a wide range of musical skills and theory in the head, hands and hearts of ukulele players.
See our website for online bookings – www.wirrinabluegrass.com and find the Music Camp page.
There may be an additional one or two options.
If you see something that’s not on the current list, please get in touch with us ASAP, let us know you want it and be prepared to spread the word!
We can only add a class if we have enough of you committing and paying so that we can organise another class space and pay another tutor.
We added ukulele because of demand, so you know it can be done.
We continue to be so well looked after by the Wirrina Cove Holiday Park.
Ben and Holly Taylor are passionate supporters of live music and provide considerable financial support, as well as turning over the caravan park exclusively to our camp and festival for 10 days.
We could not do this without them, and they are so much a part of this festival that we wouldn’t want to!
Please book camping online only.
Powered sites are available, plus plenty of space for unpowered tent and caravan sites.
It’s particularly challenging to keep festivals going these days.
We are staying smaller and hopefully sustainable, so please bring friends.
We are thankful for a strong community with good music to support us.
If you value live music, please come, talk about it and plan to play and hear more music!
See you there!
Wirrina Music Camp and Festival are the go to events in SA this year
by Thea Taylor
TN164 July 24
Get ready for an intense 3 days in South Australia.
Tuesday November 19 through to Thursday November 21 is music camp, followed by the 12th Wirrina Bluegrass & Acoustic Roots Festival which opens on Friday November 22.
We’re particularly planning this year to improve and provide more learning opportunities throughout the week, in addition to the scheduled classes.
We do welcome hearing from you about what else you’d like the camp week to contain.
How can we help you pack the most into your time with us?
Planned instruments are mandolin, fiddle, guitar, banjo, uke.
We may have options for anything else (eg bass, or something different), if enough of you ask for it and are willing to commit and pay so we can confidently book a tutor and venue space!
We’re so excited to announce that Golden Guitar winners, The Cartwheels, Wendy Phypers, Dave Patterson, and Pete Fidler, are appearing at our festival this year.
These folks are marvellous, with real high energy original bluegrass, swing and string band music.
Listening to their albums feels just like being in the sitting room with them as they play.
I remember hearing them at the Yarra Junction Fiddlers’ Convention.
I was utterly captivated, distracted from whatever I was doing at the time (that does seem to happen at Yarra Junction regularly), and just had to sit and listen outside the Rec Hut with my co-operative young retriever.
There’s no space left inside when the Cartwheels are playing and besides, tails might get stepped on with all the crowds and dancing.
And we’re poised for more announcements.
By the time any of you are reading this, we will have a few more names on our web page for performers and tutors, so please go read about it there. www.wirrinabluegrass.com.
In the folky tradition, the construction and maintenance of our web site, like leaflet delivery, radio interviews and so on, is done on a voluntary basis.
Jacquie from Red Ripple Design has contributed her personal time for about 5 years now in building and maintaining a site, and dealing with some of the modern world’s problems in keeping it there for you to see, particularly this year.
Like all the rest of you who use your technical skills to keep the folk arts and traditions in touch with as many as possible, this work is much appreciated.
This year we repeat the Wirrina Young Musicians Contest, which is for musicians under 18 in instrumental (string) and vocal categories (traditional music).
More details at www.wirrinabluegrass.com
Taking place during the festival weekend, the contest is open to all under 18s, including any who have attended the camp.
Young musicians are also welcome at the 3 day camp.
We invite families with children or teenagers to make contact.
Remember, if we don’t hear from you, we don’t know what you need!
There are options for family payment to reduce the cost of bringing a family; please let us know and we can discuss how to make it happen for you.
To run the camp, we must have enough committed enrolments to pay tutors properly and in a timely manner.
We need minimum numbers by the end of September to be sure that we can actually run each class.
If you know someone who might want to come (or send students), please do share this with them, and invite them to get in touch.
No question is the wrong question, particularly if it’s about encouraging people further in their music life.
As always, please do contact us with any questions
Email is best if you can, wirrinabluegrass@ gmail.com, or TEXT 0428 263 795 (text preferred, but you can leave a message and someone will call back).
SA’s South Coast welcomes 3rd Wirrina Music Camp
by Thea Taylor
TN163 June 24
Our 3rd year in and we are getting requests for more music classes!
So it’s on for one and all, for 3 days, Tuesday November 19 through to Thursday November 21, followed by the 12th Wirrina Bluegrass & Acoustic Roots Festival which opens on Friday November 22.
We’ll be enjoying many kinds of string band music, bluegrass, old time, various folk styles and so on.
We are scheduling classes for guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, ukulele and we hope to offer a couple of options for banjo.
Any other options by demand and committed arrangement!
For these classes to run, we need to confirm minimum enrolments by Mid September at the latest
Please email us on wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com to arrange to book to confirm your place in class!
We will limit numbers in each class to make sure participants get enough attention from the tutor, but we must have enough committed enrolments to pay tutors properly and in a timely manner.
Put the hard word on your musical friends!
News and updates on tutors will be available over the next couple of months – check the next issue.
We are working on giving you a good and varied range of experienced musicians to learn from.
Families are welcome.
We love to see families learn together, and to have young people playing alongside old and not-quite-so-old!
To this end, we would so much appreciate you sharing this with communities including young people, teachers and so on.
This year we will repeat the Wirrina Young Musicians’ Contest.
It is for musicians under 18 in instrumental (string) and vocal categories (traditional music).
For more details go to www.wirrinabluegrass.com.
This will take place during the festival weekend, and is open to all under 18s, including any who have attended the camp.
We are delighted to once again have huge support from the Wirrina Cove Holiday Park in holding both the music camp and the festival.
Holly and Ben provide considerable infrastructure for our camp and festival, including hiring marquees for our use.
They have a wonderful little spot that’s usually just for holidays, but open it to our music community for the 10 days or so around the camp and festival.
Please support them by booking in for this time, and consider them for your holidays too!
There is plenty of camping space and many powered campsites.
For caravan park bookings: www.wirrinacoveholidaypark.com.au
The camp fee covers tuition and participation in all camp activities, but you will need to book accommodation separately through the caravan park or local accommodation options.
Your festival ticket is separate and can be booked through the festival website www.wirrinabluegrass.com.
You’ll be able to either bring your own food or buy it on site from the limited menu available.
There are good shops in town, 15 mins off site.
Wirrina is on the Fleurieu Peninsula, the SA South Coast, just off Main South Road which is the route out of Adelaide.
If you are flying in or coming without a car, it is possible to travel on the Sea Link bus route to Kangaroo Island and with prior notice, you can be met at the bus stop.
We are also happy to TRY to put people in touch with others travelling in the same direction if you are interested in sharing travel.
If you wish to sail your yacht to the camp and festival, you are advised to enquire at the Wirrina Marina, as previous festival-goers have done.
Nothing is very far away.
Please tell your friends and music networks about this as these things spread best by word of mouth.
We are excited about returning for this year’s camp and hope to see a good number of new faces as well as those returning to learn with this year’s tutors.
For any enquiries about camp or music festival, please contact us preferably by email or see our website for other options.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Lots of fun had by all at Wirrina
TN162 Mar 24
Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival Director, Thea Taylor, is keen to make known her thanks for a fabulous 2023 festival, music camp, young musicians contest and all round wonderful experience.
“Despite some substantial challenges mostly in the weather department, we had an excellent week/weekend.
“Having the Foghorn Stringband from the USA/Canada amongst our group of performers was a wonderful experience indeed.
“The energy of their playing, the experience they brought and willingly shared both in workshops and informally, and their general friendly attitude all made for a wonderful addition to our usual atmosphere.
“The Foghorn band spent a lot of time with our festival community, even instructing some of our youngest festival goers in some of the arts of playing in a band as well as teaching in workshops and participating in sessions throughout the weekend.
“So many people contributed in so many ways, by volunteering during the event or throughout the year, playing music, teaching, performing, donating to our raffle/fundraising, taking photos, offering to billet performers or care for them in other ways, spreading the word about proceedings and generally being supportive of our community.
“We do appreciate all assistance given”, Thea said.
“Workshops over the weekend were very well attended, and participants keen, we are already taking requests for this year’s workshops!
“The hope with music camp this year is to run classes for the instruments we’ve had (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, ukulele), plus ideally bass and clawhammer banjo.
“If we have enough definite enrolments, we may be able to engage a tutor more specifically for a beginner group as well, but this depends wholly on numbers, so we must have expressions of interest as soon as possible!
“Please email wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com with subject line Music Camp.
“We’ve been approached by a few homeschooling families asking about bringing children and teens to the music camp, so here’s the thing.
“We love for young people to learn this music, and they are very welcome if they are either independent learners in a class (with appropriate supervision to be on site, according to age etc), or fully supervised by parent / guardian in class.
“We’re not running a creche or providing any supervision for under 18s, but we are very willing to run multi-age classes and help your family expand in musical growth.
“If there is substantial demand (ie, enough to pay for a tutor and associated costs), we could consider running a separate group for children/young beginners, but to do this, we need to know about it well in advance, and have commitment from families!
“This was the first time we were able to run the Wirrina Young Musicians’ contest, thanks to a grant from the SA Music Development Office, and Crooked Road band for sourcing funding from them and helping arrange the contest.
“We were most impressed with all contestants and hope they will continue to attend the festival, but particularly with Alexandra Pringle, who won first prize and subsequently played the Cannonball Rag for the audience on the main stage.
“We hope to see Alexandra out and about at more festivals in future.
“We will run this contest again this year, with cash prizes, and invite any under 18s who play string band instruments to participate.
“This year’s festival will run from November 22-24, I hope to see you then”, Thea said.
Gleny Rae added: “Wirrina Bluegrass festival embodies the concept of folk festival as community!
“Despite the “knock ’em down winds” which took down a few less sturdy tents, the 2023 Wirrina Bluegrass Festival was a joyful, connective and educational gathering!
“The Foghorn Stringband provided a world class headline act, with their deep seam of old time traditional songs and tunes and an irrepressible enthusiasm to share their knowledge.
“A variety of workshops were held in the lead up to the festival, providing an opportunity for folks to learn and improve their instrumental skills in the gorgeous Wirrina Cove Holiday Camp.
“By the time the festival was in full swing with a sensational and varied line up, lifelong friendships had been forged!
“This is definitely one of the premier Aussie folk festivals with a strong focus on bluegrass”, Gleny said.
Tutor, Sally Carter, also added her thoughts on the festival.
“This is a lovely festival on many levels, a real sense of community, great music jams and performances, and so easy to connect with others, whether it’s to play music with them or just have a chat, and what’s more, it’s surrounded by bush, birdsong and the distant sound of the sea.
“I ran a three day ukulele camp before the festival began on the Friday, where I took some keen participants through learning some aspects of ukulele playing and technique – bluegrass flatpicking, campanella ukulele, tab reading, ensemble playing, jazz chords, blues riffs and how to make a song sound bluesy, and more.
“This camp led naturally into the festival where the people who had been in the ukulele camp then started bringing their new found skills into the various jam sessions that were held around different parts of the festival.
“My performances with Green Fieldz, performing on my ukuleles and my fiddle, with Keith Rea on guitar and baritone ukulele, added to the fun as well as people being able to see just what can be done on the ukulele!
“To describe all this in two words…….incredible fun”, Sally said.
Not long to go now for Wirrina’s big event
by Thea Taylor
TN159
We are coming so close to the music camp now, and then into the Festival.
1 month away as I write this.
Our music camp starts on Tuesday November 21, but the team will start to establish ‘base camp’ at Wirrina, SA, on Saturday November 18, and you’re invited to jump in early and come join us if you like!
We’ll be well pleased to have your company and new tunes.
Stay on for our Acoustic Roots & Bluegrass Festival, starting Friday 24th and running through to Sunday evening, November 26th.
A bit of an update on tutors as we’ve had a change in the lineup at the camp.
Owing to the airlines’ reverence for the mighty dollar, and not perceiving the importance of musicians travelling from state to state at reasonable rates, Foghorn Stringband are unable to get to Adelaide in time to teach at the camp, but they will arrive on the Thursday to play at the Festival over the weekend.
This is a great pity.
However, we have secured Gleny Rae, an accomplished fiddle and vocal specialist based in the Northern Territory, who recently won Instrumentalist of the Year at the Australian Folk Music Awards.
Also, Andrew Clermont is returning with his unique approach to encouraging and teaching instrumental skills and musicianship.
We are most excited to have them, in addition to Paul Cooper, Sally Carter and Tony O’Rourke.
Please continue to check our website for updates as we may add another instructor, depending on demand.
We are delighted, having support from the SA Government Musical Development Office, to be presenting the first Wirrina Young Musicians’ Contest and Award, for musicians under 18.
We invite any young musicians (or their parents) to make contact, and bring a song or tune to play on the day.
It’s a general atmosphere of encouragement.
We want to nurture rather than repel the next generation!
All that you need to know is on our festival website – www.wirrinabluegrass.com
Winners will be able to perform on the main stage of the festival on the day.
In all seriousness, we would love to welcome young people who want to play, and there are many of our older festival community who are happy to have the young ones alongside them in sessions, or coming to ask questions.
If you’re a less experienced musician coming to the camp and/or festival, please do know you’re welcome to come and ask anyone who looks like they play cool stuff or at least know what they’re doing.
Chances are, they will be delighted to share with you what they know.
I’ve specifically been informed by at least 3 of the tutors that they intend to make themselves available for questions, explanations, demonstrations etc out of class time.
These are people who genuinely love the music and passionately want you to get the most out of your time at camp.
If you’re able to join us for camp this year, please do – you’ll make their day!
We’d love to meet new friends as well as reconnect with those who’ve been around before.
If there’s anything you’d like to know about music camp, please get in touch at wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com, or read more about what’s happening at wirrinabluegrass.com.
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Music Camp followed by inaugural Young Musicians Award and Festival by Thea Taylor TN158 P43-45 It’s all shaping up nicely for the 3-day Wirrina Music Camp in November (21st-23rd) followed by the Bluegrass & Acoustic Roots Festival at Wirrina Cove on the Fleurieu Peninsula, SA, November 24th – 26th. The Foghorn Stringband, Nadine Landry, Reeb Wilms, Sammy Lind and Caleb Klauder, are in the early stages of their Australian travels. If you want to follow what they’re up to during their tour of NSW, VIC, WA and SA, check out their website. They will come to us to teach classes at camp, then appear as part of our festival program, so anyone who comes along can see them in action and have fun with their high-energy dance tunes, ballads and catchy songs. This is your only chance to see them in South Australia as they are with us exclusively for the week! The members of Foghorn Stringband are joined by a few extra tutors, Paul Cooper will teach Bluegrass Banjo, and Sally Carter is our Ukulele instructor. Both will also be performing at the festival on the weekend with their respective acts, Cherry Pickers and Green Fieldz. These classes are likely to fill, so we recommend you book now. We are also taking bookings for fiddle, mandolin, Old time guitar, banjo, bass, and bluegrass guitar with Tony O’Rourke. Please help us plan ahead for the camp week by booking now. Thanks to those who’ve done so. Email wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com to let us know, or for any enquiries. We aim to have something for (almost) everyone at the camp. We have chosen tutors who are patient, experienced and enthusiastic, with good lessons and resources for those in early stages, but are prepared to offer something more rigorous if you are already competent on your instrument. We had feedback about this last year asking for more resources for the more able players, and have asked our tutors to be ready to meet these needs! Please challenge yourself and take a break if it’s too much. Remember, this is adult learning, with a DIY approach of looking after yourself. It was wonderful to see people trying new techniques and ideas after their classes last year, and we look forward to seeing this happen all over again. This is an opportunity not only for attending the classes, but also for the out of class activities, jams, and getting to know others who play your instruments, and so on. Young musicians are most welcome. Please bring a chaperone if under 16, or contact us (chaperone attends free). Families are welcome on site for the camp and festival week, and remember festival tickets for under 18s are FREE. If there’s a family with two or more under-18s who’d like to attend the music camp, please contact us to discuss options for camp fees. And there’s even more for young musicians. For the first time this year, we are adding a Young Musicians Award with prizes. We encourage any young musicians, instrumental and/or vocal, to consider coming along to the festival and entering the contest! We want to see what the next generation is up to and hear what they are playing. Please spread the word where you can. The caravan park owners have advised that the park is open for camp and festival patrons from Sat November 18th. Many powered sites are available but book them now to be sure of getting one. The caravan park encourages and prefers booking on line – www.wirrinacoveholidaypark.com.au Please support the caravan park, which is the major sponsor of the festival. Of course, if you live in the area, you’re welcome to come for classes by the day, but we do recommend spending as much time as possible on site so you don’t miss too much of the experience! For other options such as hotels and cottages, contact Yankalilla Visitor Centre. Come to the weekend festival whether or not you can make it to the camp! It will be exciting, always a good weekend to spend with old friends and make new ones. We hope to welcome festival guests from all states of Australia, as well as our special guests from USA and Canada this year. You can book tickets and find out more about our festival at www.wirrinabluegrass.com As always, we’ll have plenty of workshops and sessions to join in, including singing sessions, play-along with various performers, and the chance to learn from a wide variety of highly skilled and fascinating musicians. If you haven’t been before, come and try.
2nd Wirrina music camp precedes bluegrass and acoustic festival by Caz Williams and Thea Taylor TN157 Aug 23 So, last year’s inaugural music camp at Wirrina Cove, SA, went really well, which tells us there’s clearly demand for it again, 3 days of workshops, electives and informal gathering. The exact timetable is yet to be confirmed but we intend to help participants get the most out of coming. Also, much love and appreciation to all of last year’s participants (students, volunteers and tutors), who have told us what they would like more of, and how they’d like us to grow and improve what we offer. If you’re not sure what they are on about, you probably need to come and see for yourself. The camp, like last year, leads in to a full weekend of the 11th Wirrina Bluegrass & Acoustic Roots Festival. The weekend features various Bluegrass and Acoustic artists from around the country including high-energy bluegrass band High Street Drifters, as well as the Foghorn Stringband from Canada/USA. Always plenty to do, see and hear, and we are delighted to once again have huge support from the Wirrina Cove Holiday Park in holding both the music camp and the festival. Most excitingly, we have booked Nadine Landry, Sammy Lind, Reeb Wilms & Caleb Klauder (from the Foghorn Stringband), and Tony O’Rourke from Melbourne as tutors. Acclaimed ukulele tutor, Sally Carter from Victoria, who is appearing at the festival as half of the Green Fieldz folk duo, is very keen to run a rigorous uke class at the camp, but uke players, like everyone else, will need to book in so we know we have the numbers to cover the additional tutor fee and infrastructure. Other tutors/classes to be confirmed. Please let us know if there’s something you’d like on the class schedule that’s not mentioned. So far, we are scheduling classes for guitar, fiddle & mandolin, bass, uke, and we hope to offer a couple of options for banjo. For these classes to run, we need to confirm minimum enrolments by mid September. So if you are thinking of joining us, please email us on wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com to arrange to book and pay the non refundable deposit to confirm your place in class! We will limit numbers in each class to make sure participants get enough attention from the tutor. We plan for classes to be held in marquees and workshop spaces this year. We’ll have the marquees on site prior to the camp to minimise disruption to the teaching schedule and enable classes to have more space. The camp fee covers tuition and participation in all camp activities, but you will need to book accommodation separately, through the caravan park if you wish to stay on site, or local accommodation options. Your festival ticket is separate and can be booked through the festival website www.wirrinabluegrass.com Tickets are available for sale now. To book camping for the festival and music camp period, you will need the promotional code Bluegrass2023 to put in the website, otherwise it will tell you there are no spots available. There is plenty of camping space and many powered campsites, but the park is open only to festival and camp patrons from Saturday, November 18 through to Monday, November 27. For caravan park bookings: www.wirrinacoveholidaypark.com.au Please tell your friends and music networks about this as these things spread best by word of mouth. We are excited about this year’s camp, and hope to see a good number of new faces as well as those returning to learn with this year’s tutors. For any enquiries about the camp or music festival, please contact us preferably by email, or see our website for other options. Hope to hear from you soon!
Yes, Wirrina is having a music camp in 2023 by Caz Williams and Thea Taylor TN155 Apr 23 We keep having enquiries about enrolments for our music camp here in South Australia so I guess we’d better run another one! We’re planning an exciting program this year for most skill levels from November 21–23. We hope to once again have a tutor or two from outside Australia, after the joy of hosting Kellie Allen, Beverly Smith and Pete Peterson from the USA as tutors and performers in 2022 (in addition to Mark Pottenger and Andrew Clermont). We will post on our site www.wirrinabluegrass.com when we have secured our line-up of tutors. At the camp, we offer classes for string band instruments including fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. We can offer various other classes if there is sufficient demand! That means a minimum of 7 people. So, if you play bass, ukulele or another instrument you think should have classes, please get organised with other players, and contact us with a serious expression of interest as soon as possible. We can book a tutor and arrange a class space with enough committed paying people! If we don’t know there’s demand, then we might not think of it … hint hint. Camp precedes the weekend festival. You can come for the week or 10 days, and really settle in at the campground. If you wish to apply as a performer at the festival which follows the camp, we consider any acoustic music acts, not just Bluegrass. Although most are somewhere in the string band canon we are open to suggestions. Please email us (wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com, Subject: Performer application) and tell us about your work and how you might fit in to a small acoustic festival in semi-rural South Australia. All camp and festival activities are held at Wirrina Cove Holiday Park, 10 mins out of Normanville on the Fleurieu Peninsula. There is plenty of space for camping in the vicinity of horses, kangaroos and beautiful scenery. It’s close to the water. We’ve had people sail to the festival before. There’s limited cabin accommodation available on site but there are Air BNB sites in the area (look for Wirrina Cove, Carrickalinga, Normanville or Yankalilla), and various accommodation off site through Yankalilla Visitors’ Centre, as well as hotel rooms at the Wirrina Resort that’s literally up the hill. For those who attended in 2022, we’re still listening to all available comments, and as you know, we will pay attention. This year we will have more activities and more options. Our aim is to challenge all who attend, but of course, attendance at any given activities is optional, if, eg, your brain is full. For any enquiries, please contact us at wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com with the subject Music Camp. You can find our Facebook page – search for ‘Wirrina Bluegrass’, and follow our website www.wirrinabluegrass.com for information as it’s updated. To keep in touch: please go to our website, the ‘contact us’ page, and sign up for our mailing list. We don’t sell your details to anyone, it’s just used to update members 6-8 times a year about what’s happening with festival and related activities. We hope to see you there, ready to learn and have a lot of fun.
Four patrons share their festival experiences Published in T&N 153 December 2022
Chris Alway told festival organisers that she really enjoyed the diverse mix of workshops sampled at November’s Wirrina Blue Grass and Acoustic Roots Festival in South Australia. At Chien Xuequian’s workshop we gleaned deep cultural insights and learnt to sing an ancient Chinese folk song with correct language pronunciation, vocal tones and poetic expression. Our cultural sharing was strongly felt within the group. We are surely now Chien’s gang of Chinese singing hillbillies. Chien’s voice sounded acoustically exquisite in the rustic woolshed – even though she was worried by the resident goat contributing to her solo vocal backing. Caz William’s techniques for unleashing our creative minds worked like magic. This session concluded by each of us writing and reading out our unique and curious short stories – we will be ready for a masterclass next year. Andrew Clermont’s ‘Doing what you find difficult’ session predictably caught me off guard – should have known Andrew would somehow find a way to make me do what he knows I most don’t like doing in public! Andrew also gathered us together for a three part harmony workshop to teach us a gospel song he was going to later perform on stage and in doing so transformed us into a host of heavenly angels. Josh Bennet’s mandolin workshop was well targeted advice for the time, scope and skill levels of participants. Josh demonstrated both natural teaching talent as well as being a brilliant performer. My three day mandolin tuition with Mark Pottinger was very comfortable, personalised, encouraging and left me wanting more tips and musical mentorship with Mark. The highlight for me was that I got to dress-up in blue and dance on grass, Bollywood style, with Blue Guru. That was Blue Grass going multicultural in country South Australia. The Wirrina Festival continues to be a cosy gathering of musicians with diverse cultural interests and skills who freely mingle and share performance, ideas and skills whilst enjoying camping and jamming together in a country park setting. Looking forward to next year’s sessions.
Another festival patron, Caspian Helm, said: Take a deep dive into bluegrass and acoustic routes and your audience’s ears will thank you for it. The 3 day immersive experience music camp preceding the 2022 inaugural Wirrina Bluegrass folk and acoustic roots festival was well worth the time and money invested in my view. Jamming confidently with other camp attendees and playing ‘somewhat better’ with a celtic circle were some of the joys of putting in the work at the music camp. Learning guitar for what felt like the second time may have been a stretch for the brain and fingers, but the rapid improvement was evident. Andrew Clermont took our group through picking and strumming technique, scales and variations and other exercises that honed my guitar skills and those around me of all backgrounds and capabilities. Kellie Allen, Beverly Smith and Pete Peterson (USA) introduced techniques and songs from Maybelle Carter and the Carter family, and other workshops were delightful. Living and breathing music for the music camp prior to the festival in a relaxed atmosphere was a truly unique Australian musical experience, for any and all.
Geoff Bridgland also attended and said: I have been to every Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival and despite trying, I have never been able to see every act on the program. It sure is a busy 3 days. And this year, it was busier still, because the featured US act, “Smith, Allen and Peterson” taught Old time Music skills at the Festival camp in the days preceding the Festival weekend. So it was a great festival experience for learners and players alike. Beverly Smith, Kellie Allen and Pete Peterson didn’t disappoint. Their concerts and workshops were an absolute must for all Old Time Music appreciators, learners and learned alike. Rock-solid renditions of Old Time favourites and fiddle tunes. Traditional bluegrass and Old Time family band, The Burning Bridges, were a treat with their pre-war country sounds and songs. Smooth harmonies and skilled mandolin playing from young Tom Somerville and Justin Vilchez, supported by Ma and Pa Somerville, long-time Melbourne traditional music exponents. And the local traditional (and not so traditional) bluegrass outfits, Bluegrass Junction, The Cherry Pickers and Crooked Road were solid performers, as always, and Miss Ohio’s ballads and fiddle solos were certainly crowd-pleasers. It was especially exciting to see a young Vic/SA combination, The High Street Drifters, on stage. Danny Watkins and Justin Vilchez from Victoria and Mae Traeger and Gage Stead from SA play a strong blend of really tight traditional bluegrass sounds as well as having a compelling new-grass edge. It is to be hoped that the Drifters continue this adventure, and get out to as many performances across the country as possible, as they have a lot of combined expertise, and a really strong sense of how to play this music right. The Adelaide Scottish Fiddle Club did what they do best, with cheerful renditions from Auld Lang Syne, the Highlands and the Isles. Good to see BluGuru at the Festival again, with their unmistakable blend of Sub-Continent-Celtic-Blues-Jazz fusion excitement and unpredictability. Dave Diprose, straight from his gigs at the Mountaingrass Festival in Beechworth, as were some of the other bands, sang his biting, honest and perceptive takes on life as he does best. As I say, I couldn’t see every act, but together with multiple workshops and sessions, this Wirrina Festival made up for the lost years due to Covid and hopefully puts this Festival back on track firmly for many years to come. Add it to the list of festivals you must attend!!
Finally, Zac Quihampton also shared his thoughts on the festival. Every year, the Wirrina Festival brings together an eclectic, talented and friendly group of people from all over the country. It is fair to say, folk music isn’t my usual forte but getting lost in the atmosphere, amongst many like minded and easy going individuals, has been a highlight in my year. From the opportunity to witness some of the country’s most talented musicians, to getting involved in a late night jam circle around the fire, finding your place at Wirrina seems too easy. Although seeming impossible to choose just one or two, some acts certainly stood out from the crowd. In his usual charming and confident demeanour, we saw Andrew Clermont take to the stage several times over the weekend, sporting a vast variety of instruments. Even though his skill may seem unrivalled, he is always ready to share the spotlight and uplift fellow performers on stage, expressing some of the most beautiful music. Gwyn Ashton has had the chance to play with many famous musicians in England but has since returned to Australia to show off his solo act. Being able to play guitar, harmonica, bass drum, snare drum and high hat simultaneously seems impossible, but Gwyn showed this off almost seamlessly in his workshop at Wirrina. If there’s anyone still unconvinced, I should mention the beautiful campground and surrounding scrub, well-equipped cafe, multitude of interactive workshops and opportunities to support local artists through purchasing of CDs and merchandise. Spending a night or two, or even the whole week, amongst Australian wildlife and inquisitive horses, goats and dogs is easily another highlight. Setting up base camp, surrounding yourself and getting to know your neighbours, even having guests around for mealtimes truly is the icing on the cake. Most would find it hard to surround themselves in a more wholesome experience. I can comfortably say it again, this experience remains a highlight of my year and I look forward to many more. Music camp added for 10th festival by Thea Taylor Published in T&N152 November 2022
It’s our 10th Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival at Wirrina, SA, this year and we are celebrating that milestone with another great festival plus we’ve added a music camp for adults and teens. This year’s festival will run from Friday November 25 until Sunday November 27. All are welcome at our festival and participation is encouraged. There are workshops/tutorials and led jam sessions that welcome beginners, rusty players, and skilled players alike. New workshops this year include a PA workshop covering things that the sound guy wishes performers knew about PA, a Bollywood dance workshop and a session learning Chinese traditional folk songs. Join in with the Scottish Fiddle Club, Irish Traditional Music and a good range of Bluegrass & Old Time tune sessions and other sessions, plus community gospel singing for those awake on Sunday morning. A range of tutorials on various instruments and a creativity workshop to stretch your brain, this time with an extra session on Friday afternoon for early arrivals, are also available. And of course, there are many opportunities for informal playing around the firepits and campsites at night. On Friday and Saturday, there’s also Shanty singing at the Woolshed for all to join in. This is lots of fun with traditional seafaring songs and a bit of dress-up. Bring your own seafarer’s outfit if you like, and if you really want to get into the spirit of things, the Wirrina Cove Marina is just down the hill. We have had festival guests sail down in the past! Parrots are optional. You can also be part of our blackboard concert. Anyone can sign up for a 15 minute spot to play for an audience on Saturday and Sunday all day. Full PA support is provided. Young and newer players are welcome, or those who wish to try out new material. Delightful Tasmanian songwriter, Anne Toner, whom we met when she played on the blackboard stage last year, features on the current program with her trio. This year, on our concert stage, we are featuring a range of Australian artists including veteran Tamworth Songwriters Association 2019 ‘Bluegrass song of the year’ winner Dave Diprose, and family band, The Burning Bridges, from Melbourne, plus our American Old Time visitors, Beverly Smith, Pete Peterson, and Kellie Allen, who will also be teaching at our music camp, where we still have just a few places available. Also performing are Canadian mandolin explosion, Justin Vilchez, and the UK’s, Gwyn Ashton, before his return to the European circuit early next year. If you think that’s not enough, you can also see international performers BluGuru, complete with sitar, tabla and Indian dance. Families are welcome and tickets for under-18s are FREE. The venue is dog-friendly but please keep your well behaved dog on a lead and supervised. The park runs a kiosk with decent meals, drinks and coffee available. They are fully licensed and stock local wines and beers. Our Music camp is running for the first time this year. We’re gearing up for an intimate group of students to work intensively on instrument skills. The schedule also features exciting extra tutorials on songwriting, music of the Carter Family, getting the most out of harmony opportunities with Andrew Clermont, and more! Places still available are for fingerstyle banjo, Old Time rhythm guitar, mandolin, fiddle and melodic guitar. This is a fabulous opportunity to be up close and personal with some of America’s most skilled Old Time players and teachers, as well as highly experienced Australian musicians, Andrew Clermont and Mark Pottenger. If you want to improve your rhythm skills, and many of us should, melody playing or want to explore a new way to play the banjo, you are most definitely welcome to join us for the 3 days of intensive instruction. Visitors can camp on site or there are guesthouses/hotel options in the area, and if you need transport to the camp, the SeaLink bus runs from Adelaide City to Wirrina Resort, arriving 5.00pm. This is perfect for those flying in or without a car. Arrive by Monday evening, enjoy camp activities from Tuesday, November 22 until Thursday 24th and be ready for the festival on Friday 25th. Fun times! Last minute limited scholarship options for camp fees only have become available. If you think you cannot afford to attend at full fees but would otherwise love to and are willing to commit and participate, you are invited to get in touch with us. Let us know how you would benefit, and how you could take what you learn back to your community. Camping is available on site for the music camp and the festival. Book powered or unpowered sites at www.wirrinacoveholidaypark.com.au. You must use the promotional code bluegrass2022 to book dates between November 19th-28th as the campground is closed to the general public during the festival period. You can arrive any time from Saturday November 19th . Tickets and further information are available through our website www.wirrinabluegrass.com or for any enquiries, please email us at wirrinabluegrass@gmail.com. |
