wongawilli | Timber and Steel

The Snowy Mountains of Music Festival Announces First Lineup

March 16, 2012 at 09:32 (Festival News, News)
Tags: a french butler called smith, aj leonard’s tropical lounge, brendan gallagher, bustamento, cj shaw and the blow ins, folk music, frencham smith, karma county, mal webb, nicky bomba, riogh, snowy mountains of music, the hussy hicks, the mouldy lovers, the quarry mountain dead rats, wongawilli

Image Courtesy of The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats

Summer may be officially over but that doesn’t mean the end to music festival announcements. No siree. We have a whole winter of festivals to look forward to and the wintery-est of all is the Snowy Mountains of Music who have just this morning announced their first round of artists. And what a lineup – as always it’s leaning heavily to the folky end of the spectrum and we couldn’t be happier.

Announced this morning were Karma County’s front man Brendan Gallagher, Nicky Bomba with Bustamento, The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats (above), The Mouldy Lovers, Frencham Smith, Cj Shaw and the Blow Ins, AJ Leonard’s Tropical Lounge, Mal Webb, A French Butler Called Smith, Wongawilli, Riogh and The Hussy Hicks.

The Snowy Mountains of Music takes place over the June long weekend (8th to the 11th June) in Perisher, NSW. Super early bird tickets are available until the 29th March. Check out the official web site for more details.

Illawarra Folk Festival Announces 2012 Program

December 12, 2011 at 08:02 (Festival News, News)
Tags: andrew winton, big erle, cj shaw, dougie maclean, evelyn's secret, folk music, george kamikawa, get folked, illawarra folk festival, jack flash, jane aubourg, lucy wise & the b'gollies, martin pearson, quarry mountain dead rats, skipping girl vinegar, the bearded gypsy band, the beez, the fagans, the string contingent, the woohoo revue, wongawilli

Image Courtesy of The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats

While the summer months see some of the nation’s biggest festivals strut their stuff it’s the little regional folk festivals that really shine in our books. One of our favourite regional festivals roles around every January – The Illawarra Folk Festival in Bulli just north of Wollongong, NSW.

Being within spitting distance of both Sydney and Canberra the Illawarra Folk Festival manages to attract some amazing national and international talent and is set in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The 2012 festival will be held from the 12th to the 15th January and boasts a program featuring the likes of Dougie Maclean, George Kamikawa & Noriko Tadano, The Beez, Andrew Winton, Cj Shaw, Evelyn’s Secret, Get Folked, Jack Flash, Lucy Wise & The B’Gollies, Margaret & Bob Fagan, Martin Pearson, The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats (above), Skipping Girl Vinegar, The Bearded Gypsy Band, The String Contingent, The Woohoo Revue, Big Erle & the Limb Looseners, Jane Aubourg and of course Wongawilli.

The program for the event has just been released and is available on the official Illawarra Folk Festival web site – which is also where you can get the full lineup and all the information on how to get tickets. Looks like our January is planned then.

1 Comment

Wongawilli and Handsome Young Strangers Bring In The Spring With Bush Music

September 14, 2011 at 16:57 (News)
Tags: bush music, folk music, folk punk, handsome young strangers, wongawilli

Image Courtesy of Wongawilli

Every now and then a gig comes along that piques our interest on a its-so-crazy-it-just-might-work level and boy do we have a doozy for you today. The on the 25th September the Illawarra Folk Club will present a show featuring bush music and dance band Wongawilli (above) and Sydney folk-punks Handsome Young Strangers (below).

While both these bands draw from the same well of Australian traditional music their presentation of the genre couldn’t be more different. Wongawilli are well known on the Australian folk scene as the bastions of bush music and often perform in conjunction with the Wongawilli Colonial Dancers. Handsome Young Strangers are known for packing out inner-city Sydney pubs and putting on a hectic live show that brings out the punk crowd as much as it does the folk. The juxtaposition of the lineup may seem odd but we reckon it’ll be amazing – a real showcase of the versatility of tradition. And we’re secretly hoping there’s a largerphone-off between David De Santi and Freddo.

The show is set to take place at Wongawilli Community Hall in Wongawilli south-west of Wollongong (yes, the band has the same name as the town) on the 25th September from about 1:30pm. For more information check out the official Illawarra Folk Club web site.

Image Courtesy of Handsome Young Strangers

Ash Grunwald and More Added to Snowy Mountains Lineup

April 5, 2011 at 15:17 (News)
Tags: ash grunwald, azadoota, big erle, christine anu, dallas frasca, doc jones and the lechery orchestra, eric bogle franklyn b paverty bush band, folk music, ganga giri, geoffrey graham, gleny rae virus and her tamworth playboys, greg champion, heath cullen and the 45, jiggery, jim haynes, king marong & afro mandinko, lillian pang, marshall and the fro, mike strelley martin, orange blossom, richard perso, skipping girl vinegar, snowy mountains of music, the bearded gypsy band, the con artists, the go set, the stiff gins, the sunny cowgirls, the woohoo revue, wongawilli

Image Courtesy of Ash Grunwald

The Snowy Mountains of Music festival has been drip feeding artists onto it’s 2011 lineup since they announced the first round mid last month. And with today’s news that Ash Grunwald would be headlining we thought it was about time we gave everyone an update on who else would be making an appearance this year.

Along with Grunwald the latest artists added to the Snowy Mountains lineup include Timber and Steel favourites Skipping Girl Vinegar and The Bearded Gypsy Band, “I Made a 100 In The Backyard At Mum’s” legend Greg Champion and the wonderful Christine Anu.

The Snowy Mountains of Music festival will be held on the Queens Birthday weekend from the 10th to the 13th June. The full lineup will be revealed at the end of this month but all currently confirmed artists are below:

Ash Grunwald
Azadoota
Big Erle
Christine Anu
Dallas Frasca
Doc Jones and the Lechery Orchestra
Eric Bogle
Franklyn B Paverty Bush Band
Ganga Giri
Geoffrey Graham
Greg Champion
Gleny Rae Virus and her Tamworth Playboys
Heath Cullen and The 45
Jiggery
Jim Haynes
King Marong & Afro Mandinko
Lillian Pang
Marshall and The Fro
Mike Strelley Martin
Orange Blossom
Richard Perso
Skipping Girl Vinegar
The Bearded Gypsy Band
The Con Artists
The Go Set
The Stiff Gins
The Sunny Cowgirls
The Woohoo Revue
Wongawilli

2011 Illawarra Folk Festival Lineup

November 28, 2010 at 18:58 (News)
Tags: cj shaw, dave de hugard, eric bogle, folk music, get folked, illawarra folk festival, martin pearson, ted egan, the handsome young strangers, the tealeaves, wongawilli

Image Courtesy of The Tealeaves

The Illawarra Folk Festival has the unique drawing card of being within spitting distance of both Sydney and Canberra while being set in the beautiful surrounds of historic Bulli. As a result the festival has the intimacy of a community run event only with some of the best international, national and local folk artists on the circuit. This year’s Illawarra Folk Festival is no different with acts such as Eric Bogle, Ted Egan, Cj Shaw, Dave De Hugard, Get Folked, Martin Pearson, The Handsome Young Strangers, The Tealeaves (above) and of course the festival darlings Wongawilli.

The full list of performers can be found here. The Illawarra Folk Festival is held at the Bulli Showground, Bulli, NSW from the 13th to the 16th January. More information and tickets can be found on the official web site.