We rode into Canberra on our motorcycles and checked in at
the festival camp site on
Wednesday afternoon, the day before the opening concert. We cruised around the
camp site for a while, trying to establish what was available in the fowls, the
quiet, camping area. We were off to a good start as a new found festival friend
invited us to share his powered site. The great aspect about camping onsite is
you can wander back to your own patch for a little RNR and then immerse
yourself in the festival again.
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| Red Molly. |
On Thursday we poured over the program with a highlighter
pen. Without my guitar in tow I didn’t pay enough attention to the incredible experiences
on offer. If I had, I would certainly have joined in the Festival Choir, led by
Spooky Men’s Chorale choir master,
Stephen Taberner. The Festival Choir performance, at the Farewell Concert, was
testament to Stephen’s ability to create something quite magical under challenging
circumstances.
We just hung out at the festival over the four day Easter weekend
and enjoyed many performances including fiddler, Alasdair Fraser and cellist
Natalie Hass. I was thoroughly entertained by the synergy between these two
musicians and they were a pleasure to watch. Spooky Men are a festival favourite.
Apparently they “are not a mens group;” they said so in one of their songs. I also
spotted a Spooky Men poster which read “Spooky Men in acronynimus dispute with
FCUK.”
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| Finbar Furey. |
Red Molly were a must
for anyone who enjoys country pop and Chris
Smither if your poison is blues. Finbar
Fury delighted the audience with his Irish charm and humour; I could quite
happily listen to Finbar spinning a yarn all day long. During Himmerland’s
performance I was drawn to the character and deft touch of their percussionist,
Ayi Soloman, for the entire fifty minute set. If you ever need a session
drummer he’s your man.
At times we wandered through the Session Bar. The number of
people participating in jam sessions was amazing. Then we would check out the
dancers in the Coorong, I wanted to have a go but Steve said “I don’t dance no
more.”
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| Judge Judy. |
Judy Small
surprised us all with her decision to retire from performing in the pursuit of
her new role as a Judge. I first heard Judy’s song “Mothers, Daughters, Wives”
on my car radio way back in 1995. Judy’s farewell concert, to a full house in
the 3,000 seat Budawang venue, earned her a standing ovation. It felt surreal
that we may never see Judy perform live again.
The catering was great and we chose to dine on Thai, Mexican
and Turkish Gozleme. With Pizzas, Indian delicacies and Moroccan fair amongst
the large choice of culinary delights, every ones taste was catered for.
We were lucky to buy souvenir festival mugs before they were
sold out. In the mornings we filled these mugs with coffee and in the
afternoons we filled them with beer. When I washed them and put them away I could
feel the slight touch of the potters hand and they are a wonderful souvenir of
our first National Folk Festival.
There were so many wonderful musicians in residence that I
couldn’t help compiling my “2013 National Folk Festival Super Group,” the line
up is as follows:
¯
Duduk - Tigran Aleksanyan (SANS)
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A group setup while we were having lunch.
They played some Swedish folk tunes. |
This festival is the friendliest event I have ever attended.
I never saw a sad face all weekend and the level of participation is unprecedented.
The musical groups didn’t just congregate in the black board venues and the Session
Bar, they also formed out in the festival streets, under trees, and around
picnic tables; each group playing quietly in their own space without becoming a
nuisance to anyone else.
On Easter Monday I knew the carnival was nearly over when I
started brushing my teeth to the tune of a little jig playing inside my head. Thanks
to the organising committee and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event
happen, long may it be so.
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In the tent on a cold Canberra morning.
Updating my blog and drinking coffee from my festival mug. |
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