If you think folk festivals aren’t your thing, read on
I have a confession. I’ve been writing about the Folk Festival for two years now and have never actually attended, but this is my year. Another confession. I don’t consider myself a ‘folkie’, but I am a big music lover and have spent my career working in music, producing all sorts of TV shows, even the ARIA Music Awards.
So, I’ve been spending some time getting to know the performers who have been booked for this year’s festival, working in my sodden garden with headphones and Spotify, and I have to say I am super excited about some of the artists who, like me, are making their KVFF debut.
A sucker for a catchy headline or name, Sunday Lemonade grabbed my attention and I was instantly hooked. Laura ‘Loz’ Kirkup and Tyson Richardson have also caught the attention of TripleJ Unearthed for having “infectious joy, feel good melodies and high energy performances”. Originally from the Mornington Peninsula, they packed a van in 2019 and became musical nomads, busking and playing shows across 70,000km, fortunately landing in WA for nine months of Covid. They have a good feeling about our festival. “We’re actually still very new to the festival scene! We had our first taste at Nannup Music Festival in February 2020 (where they won the Emerging Artist award) and have been itching ever since, so the comeback is a bigger deal than you can imagine!” says lead singer Loz. They are both amazing singers and have a soulful Indy sound, and I’d agree joyful. “We’ve been told our sets are like a big wall of infectious joy! Lots of bouncing, groovy rhythms and harmonies. We love to have fun and the chance to share that with people is just the cherry on top!”
Another surprise for this self-confessed non folkie is an eight-piece band from Canberra, The Decideds. “We’re a collection of songwriters and jazz musos who came together to make something different” says Rafe Morris, guitarist and co-songwriter. “Originally we set out to make dub and roots music, but we quickly ventured into Latin, Romani, and now we seem to be playing a lot of disco! We love exploring the different genres and rhythms that get people dancing and having a good time, keeping people on their toes.” Tick.
A couple of couples from Melbourne are Tinman, another on the Indy-Folk spectrum. “A few years back we went camping together over New Years, and were jamming around the fire with a ukulele and a cigar box guitar, and that’s literally how Tinman was born – we just wanted to keep doing that. It almost seems strange that we hadn’t thought of it earlier” says Richelle Bourne, singer, guitarist and songwriter.
Covid was tough on the Victorians. “It’s definitely been hard, especially being in Melbourne and being locked down for so long. We had a whole bunch of gigs lined up and they disappeared overnight, and we didn’t see each other for months at a time.” Like many artists, Richelle found solace in writing. “In the first long lockdown I wrote heaps of new music, but when it happened again, I had nothing to say and just needed to wait it out. In the end though we’ve come out the other side with a bunch of new material we’re excited about (as well as two babies)! The babies will be joining the band for their first trip to KV “We’re really looking forward to checking out the local scene and the other acts playing. We love the community vibe that folk festivals offer and can’t wait to be part of the action!”
The community is something folkies talk about a lot and it’s what drew me to get involved when I moved here nearly three years ago. It’s what makes local events happen, and many of the team behind the Folk Festival have been dedicated to it for nearly two decades. They are looking for others to get involved, to volunteer on the weekend and to open the home to billet some of these lovely interstate performers. I hear that over the years some great friendships have been formed with reciprocal offers of interstate stays.
On reflection, maybe I am a bit folkie after all, so if you are yet to make your Folk Festival debut, spend a half hour or so at our website where you can find out more and follow links to all of the artists and a Spotify playlist: www.kangaroovalleyfolkfestival.com.au. Super early bird tickets are available until the end of August and can be bought for sessions or the whole weekend. Next I’m going to research the Poetry and Dance, I’ll let you know what I discover next time.
Julie Ward
