A Folking Great Festival: Part 1
January 22nd 2007 14:49
The Woodford Folk festival is held every year between from 27th December to 1st January and attracts a total audience of around 100-120 thousand people over the total week.
The festival is not simply a folk festival however it attracts a range of musical taste from your more traditional folk musicians to hip-hop acts and every thing in between as well as street performers, political and environmental discussion, arts and dancing workshops and is concluded with a ceremonial fire event.
This year’s event began with two days of rain but in the end the rest of the festival was blessed with great weather even unusually cool weather given the fact that some of the past festivals have had stifling hot conditions.
My personal standout performances for the event were Adelaide country outfit The Audreys. The band had such a great presence and there songs were just so dam sexy. This band is going to go along way I predict. Although the are already multi ARIA award winners so I don’t think I’m going out on a limb with this prediction.
Local Brisbane girl Kate Miller-Heidke was also a revelation to me. I had heard much praise about her and was keen to see her in action. Surprisingly usually when there is an expectation of something we are let down by it when we finally get to see or hear it. Kate is a classically trained opera singer who study at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music who has not turned who ample musical talent into performing a truly fun style of pop. Mixed into these pop numbers are moments of her past operatic singing. The thing that most pleased me about her was how much she seemed to enjoy herself on stage. Brisbane has seen a few past Conservatorium students branch into the pop world ( Katie Noonan and her band George is one that comes to mind) and I have always found them to take themselves a little to seriously which I have felt have detracted from their music. Kate Miller-Heidke however is out to have fun and has written some great little pop songs. I did feel though that some were a bit raw and only with a bit more time and with a bit of mentoring from some more established pop writers I think the world will so be her oyster.
I owe Kate Miller-Heidke a big thank you for putting me on to my absolute find of the Folk Festival. At on her performances she declared “you should all go see Hamel on Trial this guy will change your life forever” with this in mind I stumbled down to catch a performance of this guy described in the program and his website as
Bad ass singer/songwriter, joke-telling Hamell On Trial defies all musical categories. “Punk acoustic” and “anti-folk” come close. Warbling, super-sensitive folk singer he definitely is not. If you’re looking for cum-bye-yah by some soft-strumming, tearful folkie, Hamell On Trial is going to offend you.
Having read this my interest was definitely peaked. In front of a small crowd at 11.30pm he took to the stage and quipped that it was obvious word had gotten out and it was great to see such a big audience (about 10-15 people at that stage). From the moment he first strummed his guitar however I was blown away. The noise this man could make from one guitar was just exceptional. He was delighted it was the late show he had scored on this night and preceded to attempt to shock the crowd with a volley of very very blue jokes which had almost every one rolling in the aisles. By this time a steady stream of people were attracted to his noise and humour. He was not just there to be obscene though his songs were filled with political insights and questioning of social norms. He sang songs about raising his four year old and songs about media monopoly. He was like a combination of Bill Hicks and Billy Bragg with the most mean guitar playing I had heard. I intend to write more on this guy in further blogs. He was an absolute gem and his further performances attracted larger and larger crowds. His hit song of the festival was “Pussy”. It told of his delight for pussy and not the feline kind.
I have only spoken of a few of the acts that appeared at Woodford and will review more of this festival in latter blogs.
So look out for more latter.
The festival is not simply a folk festival however it attracts a range of musical taste from your more traditional folk musicians to hip-hop acts and every thing in between as well as street performers, political and environmental discussion, arts and dancing workshops and is concluded with a ceremonial fire event.
This year’s event began with two days of rain but in the end the rest of the festival was blessed with great weather even unusually cool weather given the fact that some of the past festivals have had stifling hot conditions.
My personal standout performances for the event were Adelaide country outfit The Audreys. The band had such a great presence and there songs were just so dam sexy. This band is going to go along way I predict. Although the are already multi ARIA award winners so I don’t think I’m going out on a limb with this prediction.
The Audreys
Kate Miller-Heidke
Local Brisbane girl Kate Miller-Heidke was also a revelation to me. I had heard much praise about her and was keen to see her in action. Surprisingly usually when there is an expectation of something we are let down by it when we finally get to see or hear it. Kate is a classically trained opera singer who study at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music who has not turned who ample musical talent into performing a truly fun style of pop. Mixed into these pop numbers are moments of her past operatic singing. The thing that most pleased me about her was how much she seemed to enjoy herself on stage. Brisbane has seen a few past Conservatorium students branch into the pop world ( Katie Noonan and her band George is one that comes to mind) and I have always found them to take themselves a little to seriously which I have felt have detracted from their music. Kate Miller-Heidke however is out to have fun and has written some great little pop songs. I did feel though that some were a bit raw and only with a bit more time and with a bit of mentoring from some more established pop writers I think the world will so be her oyster.
I owe Kate Miller-Heidke a big thank you for putting me on to my absolute find of the Folk Festival. At on her performances she declared “you should all go see Hamel on Trial this guy will change your life forever” with this in mind I stumbled down to catch a performance of this guy described in the program and his website as
Bad ass singer/songwriter, joke-telling Hamell On Trial defies all musical categories. “Punk acoustic” and “anti-folk” come close. Warbling, super-sensitive folk singer he definitely is not. If you’re looking for cum-bye-yah by some soft-strumming, tearful folkie, Hamell On Trial is going to offend you.
Having read this my interest was definitely peaked. In front of a small crowd at 11.30pm he took to the stage and quipped that it was obvious word had gotten out and it was great to see such a big audience (about 10-15 people at that stage). From the moment he first strummed his guitar however I was blown away. The noise this man could make from one guitar was just exceptional. He was delighted it was the late show he had scored on this night and preceded to attempt to shock the crowd with a volley of very very blue jokes which had almost every one rolling in the aisles. By this time a steady stream of people were attracted to his noise and humour. He was not just there to be obscene though his songs were filled with political insights and questioning of social norms. He sang songs about raising his four year old and songs about media monopoly. He was like a combination of Bill Hicks and Billy Bragg with the most mean guitar playing I had heard. I intend to write more on this guy in further blogs. He was an absolute gem and his further performances attracted larger and larger crowds. His hit song of the festival was “Pussy”. It told of his delight for pussy and not the feline kind.
I have only spoken of a few of the acts that appeared at Woodford and will review more of this festival in latter blogs.
So look out for more latter.
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