Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival kicks off on Friday 20 October, with concerts in four venues from 3.20pm and a welcome bush dance at 7pm. The fun continues all weekend until 5.30pm Sunday.
With over 50 acts in seven venues, the festival has something for everyone. As well as traditional folk, there’s blues, gypsy jazz, world music, indie, 60s and 70s pop and comedy as well as poetry and dancing all weekend.
There’s plenty of join-in stuff too, with dances, poets’ breakfasts and workshops in everything from belly dancing to song writing. There are kids’ activities all day Saturday and Sunday. Accompanied children under 12 get in for free!
If the excitement gets too much, festival folk can relax in our famous session bar with craft beer on tap and a million dollar view, enjoy a coffee or browse the food and market stalls.
You can start the day with yoga and meditation in our cool new venue the Happy Nest, a Scandinavian tipi tent, which also hosts youth and blackboard concerts.
Full performer details are on our website, but here are a few standouts:
Austral – a high-energy, four-piece Australian tunes band combining didgeridoo, Irish pipes, high energy fiddling, journeying songs and energetic foot percussion.
Tuck Shop Ladies – Strapping on a pair of ukuleles, Australian folk music darlings Sam Lohs and Rosie Burgess pull back the curtain to share an intimate selection of their often ridiculous, but always harmonious songs.
The Humbuckin’ Pickups – Wielding guitars, dobros, banjos, double bass and mandolins the quartet will draw you in with their love of storytelling through music, humour and four-part harmony.
Luke O’Shea – 16 x Golden Guitar recipient, carrying on the ancient tradition of singing up country
The Blues Preachers – will take you to another place and time, somewhere between 1920 and 1940. They perform a fusion of good old blues, rags, gospel and hillbilly folk.
We Mavericks – masterful strings meet captivating vocals and barefoot rhythm, all in a wild and fascinating connection.
Mudjingaal Yangamba Choir, singing in Dhurga and Dharawal languages
Get your Earlybird season tickets for just $120 until 30 September. After that season tickets at the gate are $140 or online for just $130. Day and evening tickets are also available.
For tickets and full details, visit www.kangaroovalleyfolkfestival.com.au.
Stuart Leslie