Articles-Features
|
|
Woodford Folk Festival 2007
(27 December 2007 - 1 January 2008) |
The
annual Woodford Folk Festival may have endured some rain,
but that did not stop the pouring of enthusiasm that
emanated from the attendees. And it was not only the
spectators, but the entertainers and general participants
who were having a good time.
|
First timers and upcoming
Brisbane
band The Quills really got into the spirit of the
festival. “We’ve been here since Boxing Day so we’ve been
soaking it up, soaking up the rain and everything else,”
laughs bass player, Will Feeney. “It’s been really
fun”.
|
|
|
The
Quills
stayed for the whole duration of the festival which lasted
seven days. Feeney spent a fair
chunk playing around in the Circus tent. “I think its
fantastic, brilliant so far,” he says.
Lead
vocalist and guitarist, Dave Butler commented how he liked the variety that the
festival provided. “You go to other festivals and its
pretty much music, which is cool, but this is so different.”
Butler
continues:
“People here are at different elements like the art,
dancing, and the ‘Klownsville’, I love ‘Klownsville!’
But the
weather? “It wasn’t too bad …and they had some great
classes on so I was getting amongst that.”
“And all
the different food, you don’t find Dagwood Dogs anywhere,
it’s all really nice, really good food,” adds fellow band
member Andrew
Stone, the keyboards and vocal backup of the band.
Woodford
Folk Festival has been known to promote unknown performers
that have now paved their way successfully in the Australian
Music Industry. Many ARIA nominees and winners such as
Lior, The Audreys,
Kate Miller-Heidke were
past guests who have made their mark and who knows,
The Quills may be the next celebrities on that list.
“We have
to thank Bill [Hauritz] [Director of the Festival] and Katie
[James] [Co-Director] who picked us out of
obscurity to let us play here, so we are eternally indebted
to them for all their hard work in getting us here,” says
Butler.
|
Harry
Angus
has been attending the Woodford Folk Festival even before he
was part of the successful Australian band The Cat
Empire, and his additional band Jackson Jackson.
Both bands played at the festival. “I didn’t really go to
concerts until I started in a band, and my first ever
concert I attended would have been at Woodford,” states
Angus.
Angus
continues: “It’s a
good festival, I like the fact that bands that might play to
thirty people when in their home town every Monday night,
come here and play to ten thousand people. I love how it’s not
about how famous you are, and that’s great! I also like how
all the artists and participants seem to be a lot less
segregated than at other festivals, which is good too.”
|
ARIA
winners, musical comedy trio, Tripod have played at
the festival a few times. Member Gatesy (Steven Gates)
feels that one of the biggest buzz for him as an
entertainer has been playing at ‘The Grande’ at the Woodford
Folk Festival. “There was a huge amount of people all the
way up to the little mountain; they were all listening to
us. That was just great, that’s awesome,” he says
enthusiastically.
Does the
trio feel that the festival should continue? Tripod
member Yon (Simon Hall) jokingly says, “It’s got to
stop, it’s got to stop, it’s a kind of plague!”
|
Fellow
Tripod member, Gatesy continues with the
sentiment, “Imagine the world if this kind of spread like a
virus. This sort of vibe, this feeling, spread! It would
be the end of the world as we know it. It would be a whole
new world and I’m not ready for that!” Not to be left out,
claimed song writer of the trio, Scod (Scott Egar)
adds, “The balance of the force would be upset”.
|
|
|
Jokes aside, if that is possible with this threesome, as
performers what do Tripod really think of the
Woodford Folk Festival? “Woodford is awesome, that is the
short version. We have fun,” says Scad. “It’s a
very broad kind of people that come here; it’s a very kind
of generally accepting vibe. So you’ve kind of have a bit
of a license to do whatever you want to do and people come
to it on your terms, which is really very cool”.
|
|
|
First
timer, but one lady that needs no introduction, another
multi-nominee and ARIA winner is singer/songwriter, Sarah
Blasko. Blasko was a big hit with the audience
bringing her unique style and musical talent that thrilled
the crowd. “It’s a very warm crowd,” she says. “People at
festivals are really ready to have a good time and they are
often very vocal about it. That’s a real nice thing about
playing at festivals, that people are unbridled with their
enthusiasm”. |
|
|
|
|
|
Various sights to see at
the Woodford Folk Festival which includes the
fun-loving people who participate in adding different
characters and variations to the festival atmosphere. |
|
|
The
Woodford Folk Festival is definitely Australia’s version of
the ‘peoples’ festival. A very interactive festival that
combines different themes rolled into one. Successfully
merging all styles of music, comedy, arts and craft, dance,
spiritual healing and various workshops, and not to forget
the various choices of delicious food, is what Woodford Folk
Festival is about.
Rain or
shine, this festival always maintains an energized crowd.
This includes the multi-talented international and home
grown performers, both celebrities and upcoming
entertainers, but most of all the team that makes Woodford
Folk Festival work: the organisers and volunteers. Yet
again, these are just some of the reasons that make Woodford
Folk Festival so special for all those who are touched by
the Woodford experience.
|
|
Click
TOP to get to top of page
|
|