Port Fairy Folk Festival
February 2013
Port Fairy Folk Festival, held annually since 1977 in the picturesque Victorian seaside town, once again boasts an impressive line-up of talent in early March with artists such as American music legend Arlo Guthrie and Irish troubadour Glen Hansard being among the many overseas acts set to play alongside a wealth of Australian talent.
A last-minute addition to the festival’s line-up of over 70 acts is New Zealander Tim Finn (pictured), once of bands Split Enz and Crowded House.
“Tim, who jumped at the chance to perform this year, is very excited about it,” says Jamie McKew, whose has been the festival’s director since its inception, apart from a two-year break.
“I heard Tim being interviewed on ABC Radio recently and he was saying how much he was looking forward to playing Port Fairy and how lots of musicians and the people who go there had told him how good it is. And it’s that reputation we’ve built up over the last 30 or so years that’s enabled us to attract the high calibre of internationals, such as Arlo Guthrie, who now play there. It now has a really good reputation around the world.”
McKew spends much of the time at the festival checking out each act and is especially looking forward to seeing Guthrie for the first time.
“And Gurrumul too,” he says of the indigenous performer. “I’ve already seen him twice this year but am looking forward to seeing how he goes down at Port Fairy. And once the artists get up on stage, there is a really noticeable rise in the energy levels of the audience. That helps make it such a lovely festival.”
The event, which uses a variety of Port Fairy venues, began humbly in 1977 but has since gone on to become one of the country’s largest and most successful and has far outgrown its focus purely on folk music.
“It was just bush bands and traditional folk groups in the very beginning,” McKew announces with a chuckle. “But it’s now a very diverse program with everything from folk through to reggae and indie pop.”
McKew, who remembers doing the festival’s very first posters and programs without the aid of a computer, suggests the event has also been buoyed by the fact that acoustic music has again become popular over the last 20 years, especially with a younger crowd.
“I can remember back in the 80s when it was hard to find enough good acts to have a decent line-up,” the director recalls. “There were a couple of years like that and then there was suddenly a huge wave of exciting new acts, such as The John Butler Trio and The Waifs, coming through and now there’s an even bigger wave of great new acoustic acts to choose from.
“We now also have a fringe-style program alongside the main festival program to highlight the really new up-and-coming performers,” McKew announces. “So it’s great for the young acts to do a show while experiencing a great festival. And a good side of that is they will be pumped up 10-fold.”
The festival usually sells out before throwing open its gates. “It’s been that way for a while now,” McKew concludes. “There are still tickets left at the moment but we won’t be surprised if it sells out again. So that’s very gratifying but I also put it down to our loyal audience and their good taste.”
Port Fairy Folk Festival runs from Friday, March 8 to Monday, March 11.