Some mainland and Tasmanian acts that rocked Cygnet in January 2006

The Mara! Band

www.maramusic.com

With over a dozen international tours behind them, the Mara! band is one of Australia's most widely toured ensembles. It was easy to see why they have such a high international standing when they took to the stage with virtuosity and intensity with their repertoire of Balkan, European folk tunes to jazz. Mara's vocal masterclass produced a chorus to join them in the Saturday night concert for a Bulgarian tune and one of her own compositions, also in Bulgarian.

Kev Carmody

A truly legendary performer, Kev had audiences enthralled with his absorbing stories of life in the bush and city and his moving songs - some of which form part of the soundtrack to our lives - Kev is a living legend and made even the town hall feel like an intimate space with his huge stage persona.

Danny Spooner

www.dannyspooner.com

Danny Spooner is a legend on the folk scene in Australia, Europe, Canada, the USA and the UK and a perennial favorite at Cygnet concerts and sessions for his vast repertoire of traditional folk songs, work songs and shanties. He generously shared treasures from his vast wealth of musical gems during concerts, in sessions and at the Shanties session at the Sailing Club on Saturday afternoon. Danny fans won't be disappointed this year, because he'll be back with more of his best!

Kristina Olsen

One of the most entertaining and compelling performers on the international folk circuit Kristina is in huge demand throughout the world.

She rocked the top pub with her gutsy blues, captivated her old fans and new with each concert performance, almost capsized the Great Poetry Debate by enlisting the support of the Spooky Men's Chorale to make her point that "White Men Can't Sing the Blues" and was a warm presence in Cygnet for the whole weekend.

Kancy Kerr and James Fagan

Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are a well established and sought-after folk duo based in the UK, they have performed all over the world. Their performances were inspirational and people were raving about them.

Nancy is a Northumbrian interpreter of English music on fiddle, and her workshop was packed with people who loved it. James and Nancy's English Traditional Singing workshop on English traditional songs, styles and harmonies was also popular and rewarding.

Peggy Seeger

Peggy Seeger ranks as one of the most important people who ever graced and shaped the British folk scene." Ken Hunt, Folk Roots Magazine.

Thanks to the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council we were able to bring Peggy to Cygnet for one, special performance in the Concert for Workers' Rights on Sunday afternoon.

Doch

Doch's energy and powerful arrangements push the scale beyond the usual boundaries. These accomplished your musicians hit their audience with a slew of brilliantly delivered Eastern European songs and the audiences just went wild. They had the town hall rocking on Saturday night and now Cygnet audiences have had a taste of this crazy Gypsy madness there's a huge demand for more! This year Linsey Pollak will be helping Tasmanian musicians serve it up.

Totally Gourdgeous

The Gourds were the 2005festival favourites and so many asked for them back - we could not refuse. With their groovy gourd instruments, terrific songs and crazy arrangements they were all that everyone expected... and more! They were the final act at the Sunday night Cabaret and had the whole place dancing like mad - a suitable climactic end to the festival.

Bruce Mathiske

World acclaimed performer Bruce Mathiske plays tunes with styles that have no boundaries. In concert, his warmth, virtuosity and humour have spellbound audiences all over the globe and Cygnet was no exception - someone summed it up by saying "I didn't know a guitar could do that".

Bruce packed the Town Hall for his "Guitar as Orchestra" workshop where he shared his techniques for getting the most out of a guitar.

The Spooky Men's Chorale

A huge hit at Woodford and the National Folk Festival at Easter the Spooky Men reclaim the rights of baritone and bass singers to collectively strain their vocal chords in honour of such anthemic subjects as "a man and his tool." They were the runaway hit of the festival with their many performances indoors and out. Their workshop for Kids and their "Sing Like a Bloke" workshop (for blokes of all genders) were packed to capacity. When there's 18 Spooky men in town, they seem to be everywhere! They now have a massive Tasmanian fan base.

Silvia Entcheva

Bulgarian born singing folk star, Silvia has toured Europe as part of the Blugarian choir "Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares". Sylvia's extraordinary voice and colourful national dress brought something special to the festival, like some exotic flower.

When her two small daughters, Isabelle and Chanelle, joined her on stage, also in Bulgarian national dress, to sing confidently and powerfully for such tiny girls, it reduced many in the audience to tears.

Mihirangi

Mihirangi isn't dubbed the "Maori Princess of Funk" for nothing! Her extraordinary talents and warm, engaging stage presence blew people of all ages away with her vocal looping, mesmerising soundscapes and brilliant physical poi work. Everyone loved her and loved her show. Mihirangi went hard all weekend either on stage or off, in the park leading a Haka or running a poi workshop.

Trouble In The Kitchen

Trouble in the Kitchen are young and startlingly accomplished five piece instrumental and vocal Irish music band based in Melbourne. They have featured on Cygnet stages in the past and it's difficult to find an Australian Celtic group to match them, especially when they add Irish button accordian player Caroline Frawley to their line up. As usual, TIK could have a room full of people spell bound in their seats or dancing like crazy - depending on their repertoire.

Adrian's Irish Fiddle workshop followed by Ben's Bodhran workshop were also a huge success judging by the feedback.

Milk

Milk is a talented four piece Melbourne band featuring guitar, accordion, double bass and violin and dazzling vocal harmonies. Their thoughtful lyrics, rich harmonies and engaging presentation won them plenty of fans in Cygnet.

Their songwriting workshop produced a beautiful piece that was presented by Milk and the workshoppers at the Sunday night Cabaret.

Ajak

Ajak is a Dinka singer from Southern Sudan. We have been lucky enough to have her on several occaisions at Cygnet, often accompanied by the charismatic Zimbabweian percussionist, Fabio Chivanda. No one could fail to be moved by Ajak's humour and her extraordinary voice.

Tamarisque

This South Australian family band started playing in the park on Friday afternoon and won the hearts of Cygnet with their lyrical pieces, fine musicianship and impressive staying power - they never ran out of energy.

High and Lonesome

If you're a sucker for a country tear-jerker, if you insist on your music being older than the musicians playing it and you like your banjo players loud, then the High and Lonesome All-Star Mountain String and Banjo Ensemble from the wild west of Geelong is a must see. They captivated Cygnet audiences with their eclectic range but it was their down-home country prowess that won our hearts and minds.