Summer – The Festival of Small Halls

With summer upon us the music festival season across the country, be they big or small from massive raves, boutique gatherings, bush doofs or cultural jams, are underway to assault the senses.

One on the list that’s peaked our interest is the ‘Festival of Small Halls’. A series of tours coming to a community hall near you. The best in folk music and contemporary acoustics hit the road to play their hearts out in community halls usually reserved for craft afternoons and council meetings.

Produced by Woodfordia Inc in partnership with numerous Australian festival representatives, regional partners and lovers of music, the opportunity to reach the regions and explore country spirit and hospitality has proven immensely successful. Regional touring circuits have been carved out connecting with town folk and providing high-quality live music in remote areas. You can smell the history and feel the nostalgia as artists play in buildings that have been at the heart of communities for decades – a place where a community comes together to connect and participate. The ‘Festival of Small Halls’ is a welcomed opportunity for music-lovers to inspire community spirit and heart-warming evenings with old school hospitality, be it a delicious home baked supper or a classic family style BBQ with a local ‘paddock-to-plate’ approach.

Now you may not be into folk music or real keen on contemporary acoustic platforms, but either way I’d suggest you’re missing out as the artists on tour are insanely talented and the atmosphere an experience one is unable to achieve at any of the big venues. The geographic coordination across the regions is very impressive as the distances are vast – on average a single tour clocks up 4,000kms and takes in around 20 towns.

At the heart of this project, which has been well underway for six year’s is ‘people’. Artists are not playing to massive rooms or huge festival crowds. In a community hall you can reach out and touch them, see the performance clearly from the stage and the artist can see, talk and enjoying country hospitality with the audience. To give you an idea the Spring Tour 2019 presented Scottish duo The Jellyman’s Daughter and Australian song-writing duo Sara Tindley and Ash Bell, and it started at the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival, in northern NSW on 25-27 October, and threaded its way up through Queensland’s high country before finishing at the Queenscliff Music Festival, near Cairns, on 22-24 November.

The Summer Tour 2019 featuring British singer-songwriter Blair Dunlop (who is also an actor – he played the young Willy Wonka in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and roots music artists duo Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson. This kicked off in Austinville in the Gold Coast hinterland 20 November and concludes at Mapleton, near Nambour 15 December.

The Summer Tour 2020 will run from Cygnet to Illawarra, starting in Southport on 4 January with Siobhan Miller (SCO) and Jack Carty (AUS) through to Nymboida on 2 February and from the 10th – 12th of January 2020 the small town of Cygnet will again play host to the annual Cygnet Folk Festival. This year will be the 38th Cygnet Folk Festival, one of Australia’s most iconic folk music festivals. Very highly regarded by musicians and festival-goers from all over Australia and overseas. The Festival is a showcase of eclectic music genres featuring both local and international talent, dance, poetry, masterclasses, film, kids’ entertainment, food, wine, art and local handicrafts all set in the breathtaking scenery of Tasmania’s Huon Valley.

The ‘Festival of Small Halls’ tours the entire eastern states – Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The impact on local communities is profound, not about commercial venture and all about arts participation, people in partnership and collaboration and there’s plenty of opportunity to get involved.

Looking to get involved with the ‘Festival of Small Halls’ as a small halls host venue, become a volunteer in your local area, share your story, partner with the team, make contact as an artist or presenter or on the look out for a great internship, touch base with the Festival of Small Halls at www.festivalofsmallhalls.com