Festivals Update: November 24
MAITREYA HEADS TO BYRON
Victoria’s troubled Maitreya is coming alive again a month after posting it had come to the end of the road. It’s announced it will be held in Byron Bay March 10—13. “If you are an unrefunded ticket holder from the 2016 event, then entry to the 2017 event is on us!” promoters said. The festival still owes thousands of dollars to suppliers.
HILLS GET CLOUD CONTROL
The Hills Are Alive in Gippsland, Vic, will be headlined by Cloud Control (pictured), accompanied by Angus Stone’s Dope Lemon. The full lineup is flashed on November 30, with next year’s instalment, its 9th, to include a comedy stage.
NEW ORLEANS PARADE KICKS OFF MULLUM MUSIC
A New Orleans-styled street parade was one of the features of the 9th Mullum Music (Mullumbimby, NSW), with hundreds joining the procession with makeshift percussion, shakers, tambourines and clap sticks.
With the Saturday selling a few days before, the festival also pushed the envelope by pushing artists together to collaborate. Simon Burke of The Meltdown and Jo Jo Smith had never met but they ripped out a version of Georgia that tore the room apart.
“This is what sets Mullum Music Festival apart,” promoters posted. “It’s not just about sitting back and watching, it’s about getting involved, because this is a festival of inclusion. There are no backstage VIP areas, artists and festival patrons are one. And they were.”
CURATED MUSIC AT FAUX MO
The music component of Faux Mo 2017 (January 22—29) in Hobart is curated by DJ Dameza and includes Berlin poet and producer Black Cracker, US mashup pioneer DJ Z-Trip, Sydney bass queen Sippy, L-Fresh The Lion, Spoonbill (Melbourne-born award-winning audio producer Jim Moynihan), hip hop riser Dylan Joel, industrial-strength violinist Veronique Serret, Sydney DJ Raine Supreme as well as a number of Hobart names.
ADELAIDE FRINGE UP FOR RUBY AWARDS
The Adelaide Fringe is up for a number of categories in South Australia’s arts and culture Ruby Awards on December 10.
It’s up for Sustained Contribution by an Organisation or Group against Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Vitalstatistix and Guildhouse.
The Fringe Parade vies as Best Event against Adelaide Film Festival 2015, the Art Gallery of SA’s TARNANTHI: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s The Petrushka Project.
In the Community or Regional Impact under $100,000 category, its Desert Fringe was nominated alongside True North Youth Theatre Ensemble’s A Kid Like Me, ActNow Theatre’s Responding To Racism and Guildhouse Traditional Craft Skills Workshops.
MARLON WILLIAMS, LIOR, JOIN PT FAIRY FOLK
The final round of acts for the 2017 Port Fairy Folk Festival included Marlon Williams and Lior, the latter playing two sets with a string quartet. The other adds were Mercan Dede, Digging Roots, Buried Country and The Mission Songs Project.
FINAL ADDS FOR A FESTIVAL CALLED PANAMA
Latest and final additions to Tasmania’s 4th A Festival Called PANAMA were Big Scary, Emma Louise, Ngaiire, Gareth Liddiard and Julia Jacklin joining the likes of Kurt Vile and D.D Dumbo.
THREE MORE ENTER ELECTRIC GARDENS
Joining Eric Prydz are three more international names Jamie Jones, Sasha and Basement Jaxx. In its second year, the Euro-styled Electric Gardens is held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over the Australia Day weekend, and takes Prydz to Perth for a cub headliner.
PILL TESTING KITS FOR SYDNEY SUMMER FESTS
While the NSW Government dawdles with threats of prosecuting on-site pill testers, thousands of legal pill testing kits will be handed out at Sydney’s summer music events, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. “This is definitely not our preferred option, it is our only available option,” said Harm Reduction Australia President Gino Vumbaca .
WA SLAMS DOWN ON FENCE JUMPERS
WA’s events sector is saying that it’s time to call fence jumping at festivals by the rights name – criminal trespassing. Ahead of talks with the State Government, Events Industry Association WA President Cassandra Brennan told The West Australian that jumpers are not by ticketless fans just wanting to hear music but “an organised group of people who consider this some kind of sport and a badge of honour to break into an event and just create mayhem.
She warned that the rise of their occurrence is damaging WA’s reputation with promoter as a place to stage events, and will eventually lead to less festivals and concerts as a result because of the extra costs involved in security and fencing.
SEMAPHORE MUSIC MISSES OUT ON FUNDING
Adelaide’s Semaphore Music missed out on the latest round of Arts SA’s Contemporary Music Organisations funding. However it remains eligible for funding via programs as Contemporary Music; Festivals and Venues; Community Arts Development and ATSI Arts Development.
TASSIE EVENT REVERTS TO ORIGINAL NAME
After rebranding to Tasmanian International Arts Festival last year, the decision has been made to revert to the event’s original name of Ten Days On The Island when it returns between March16-26. At its launch last week in Hobart, Artistic Director David Malacari said 720 performers from 15 countries will feature 80 events at 38 locations across the state. The Tasmanian contingent numbers 58, with 23 new local works being premiered.
HEAR ME RAW
NSW’s South Coast Raw has set up RAW 2016 for December 3 at Port Noarlunga Football Club with a massive lineup of southern bands. They include Trench Effect, Hate Force Five, A Black Picture, Loaded Billy, Shirt Front, Chaos Swing, Abolished, Twitch, The Violet Crams and Black Jasper.
30 MORE FOR NATIONAL FOLK
Among the 30 more acts added for National Folk (Thursday, April 13—Monday 17, Exhibition Park, Canberra) are Melisandre, Dubmarine, Kutcha Edwards, Sparrow-Folk, Zulya and The Children Of The Underground.
The international contingent includes NZ’s award-winning Mel Parsons performing her acclaimed Drylands and, from the UK, Jarlath Henderson, youngest person ever to win the BBC Young Folk Award, and Katey Brooks, who featured on albums by Brian May, Bill Wyman and Nick Mason.