Sparkling lineup for Folk Festival's ruby anniversary
By Nick Hartgerink, publicity officer for the Illawarra Folk Festival
Illawarra Folk Festival organisers are planning to “paint Bulli Showground red” when they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the annual music festival on January 14-17.
“It’s our Ruby Anniversary, which is amazing, and we are so excited about the fabulous performers who are going to help us celebrate that milestone,” festival director Shane Moon said.
“We’ve got almost 90 acts, including 13 from overseas. Some of those international acts have played at some of the world’s biggest festivals, like Glastonbury in England, so we’re thrilled to have them coming to Bulli Showground for our 40th festival.
“We’ve got all kinds of celebrations planned, including a Le Ruby Ball late on the Friday night, when we’ll be encouraging people to come to the party dressed in red.”
Ms Moon said the Illawarra Folk Festival’s 40 years was a testament to the foresight of the Illawarra Folk Club, which stages the festival, and the dedication of the army of volunteers who have nurtured and built it up over the years.
“It’s amazing to think that back in 1985 the folk club thought it would be worth trying to put on its first festival, how its grown over the years, and now we’re celebrating our 40th anniversary,” she said. “We survived Covid – when we couldn’t hold the festival in 2021 and 2022 – but we came back from that setback with renewed enthusiasm.
“At a time when a lot of festivals around the country have fallen by the wayside, we are very proud to still be doing what we’ve always done – bringing together fantastic traditional and contemporary music, dance and spoken word in a family-friendly festival for the whole community.”
Announcing the 2027 festival program, Ms Moon said the artistic team had put together a fabulous line-up to appeal to a wide range of musical tastes. “We’ve got fabulous World music, from Africa to the Balkans, traditional folk and Celtic musicians, indie-folk bands, punk-folk, Americana … and bands like The Royal High Jinx who are going to have people dancing late into the night,” she said.
“We’ll also be giving a nod to our past, with festival stalwarts David De Santi and Russell Hannah both hosting retrospective concerts that reflect some of the outstanding acts that have graced our stages since 1985.
"David is doing two sessions of his ‘Ruby Songs’ show over the weekend, and Russell’s ‘Immortals Concert’ on Sunday afternoon should be something special.”
The annual folk school is on again as part of the festival, while the Tuck Shop Ladies will be holding a special song-writing workshop.
The festival’s international acts include six acts from England, two from Scotland, two from Canada, two from the US and one from Ireland. Highlights include:
- UK indie-folk band Good Habits, which has performed at the legendary Glastonbury Festival and toured extensively in Europe and Australasia. BBC Radio has praised their 21st century musicianship as vocals, synth, accordion and drums combine in a sound inspired by Kate Bush, the Who and Penguin Café Orchestra;
- UK singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy, who has toured with the incomparable Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention fame, and supported such world-class acts as The Chieftains and Loudon Wainwright III;
- Dandelion Delivery Service, who hail from Wisconsin’s bluegrass scene and deliver “a rodeo of original Balkan honky-tonk and feral faerie-SpaceRock, lassoed together by timeless harmonies and haunting melodies”;
- Jessica Pearson and the East Wind, a Canadian band featuring haunting three-part harmonies combining roots, Americana and Celtic influences.
The national acts include:
- Wollongong-raised acoustic guitar virtuoso Michael Fix, who is known across the world for his distinctive arrangements and highly evocative performances;
- The Tuck Shop Ladies - Rosie Burgess and Sam Lohs, armed with ukuleles and razor-sharp wit to turn life’s everyday absurdities into hilarious songs;
- The Royal High Jinx – described as the “Balkan Abba” for their catchy songs and glamourous live performances, that have delighted audiences across Australian and on the band’s forays into Europe;
- Micro Wave Jenny - Tessa and Brendon Boney’s Australian pop duo, known for their dynamic live shows and songs that have featured across Australian television and film soundtracks. They have toured nationally and internationally, including to the UK and Taiwan.
- Irish-Australian folk singer extraordinaire, Enda Kenny, with his heartfelt songs and lilting melodies.
Popular Illawarra acts include Kiama-based bluegrass band The Water Runners; singer-songwriter Kay Proudlove (who doubles as the festival’s artistic director); festival favourite Shalani Thomas and her new band The Flower Pots; Nick Rheinberger and Tia Wilson’s musical comedy show; The Bard Club – Dr Kathryn Roberts Parker’s project to bring Shakesperean folk music to life with participatory dance tunes and songs from the 17th century; the annual Koori Voices concert, featuring local Indigenous performers; and Adara Enthaler’s Enough Said Poetry Slam.
Music starts on Thursday, January 14 with a charity concert, while the festival itself runs from the Friday afternoon to Sunday night.
The Illawarra Folk Festival is presented by the Illawarra Folk Club. Early Bird tickets are available here.
