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The programme for 6th - 8th January 2012 festival has been completed and is now available for download. Hard-copy programs will be available for sale at the festival. Large type programmes are available for download near the festival date.
Each year the Cygnet Folk Festival brings to Tasmania, and the Huon Valley, a host of the colourful and amazing musical acts.
For its 30th Birthday the festival will pull out all stops to present a variety of performers drawn from across Australia and around the world, covering an array of genres and styles.
The Cygnet Folk Festival prides itself for featuring more Tasmanian acts in its program than any other festival in the State’s summer calendar. At the same time it tries to bring in acts of both quality and diversity to highlight what is happening globally in folk, traditional, ethnic, acoustic, roots and world music circles.
This year we are trialling a system giving Season Ticket holders priority access to venues. Please form separate queues for season and non-season ticket holder. Doors will open when the venue is ready for the next concert. Please wait until you are invited to enter the venue. If the Venue Full sign is up then please try another venue and enjoy seeing a performer you may not have ever seen before.
Here are just a few of the feature acts you can catch at the 2012 Cygnet Folk Festival from Jan 6th to 8th.
Ethno in Transit (From Europe and Chile)
Unquestionably one of the hottest young folk oriented groups on the planet, Ethno in Transit is an international music collective that is breathing new life into traditional musical styles. They are taking it out live to the music loving people of the world.
The band emerged out of the “Ethno” music camps in Europe in 2009. These camps or festivals allow young European musicians to get together and share and learn each other’s traditional music. The players of Ethno in Transit are drawn from a variety of countries and each is a master and teacher of their locality’s folk music. Together this large eclectic band is unbelievable.
Their members come from Slovenia, Estonia, Chile, Spain, Scotland, Austria and elsewhere in Europe. Their spell binding performances include a diverse and vibrant mix of South American rhythms, coupled with beautiful Celtic and European melodies.
The idea of promoting cultural music as a means of universal communication and education amongst young people remains at the heart of why they do what they do.
My Friend the Chocolate Cake
“They proved you can play together for two decades and not only like each other (I've rarely seen a band so consistently engage with such obvious fondness) but keep relationships and the music fresh, as two sets dominated by their most recent album showed. They proved you can play pop music with lead guitar replaced by cello and violin: Helen Mountfort and Hope Csutoros provided pathos in the typically elegant ballad The Centre Cannot Hold, scene setting in Sister Berenice and humour and zest in Vandorlo. They proved you can be affectionate, pointed or downright funny about suburban Australian living, thwarted dreams and religion without succumbing to mockery: Home Improvements still nips at your dancing heels; new song Everything We Need catches you unawares; Pentecostal Girl still makes you laugh; and the prettiest pop song, A Midlife's Tale, has never lost its ability to seduce you into feeling while you're thinking. They proved there is an audience for erudition and compassion - whether it's for the blunt force of Foreigner or the devastating, but understated, The Gossip - who can still have their faces creased into smiling whenever My Friend the Chocolate Cake kicks up metaphorical dust. I think they made their point.”Live review, Sydney Morning Herald, 5th June 2011
The Simon Bradley Trio (From Scotland)
The Simon Bradley Trio is comprised of three award winning multi- instrumentalists, Matheu Watson, Anna Wendy Stevenson and Simon Bradley. They play fiddles, viola, mandolin, banjo and guitar in a polished, lush and dynamic sound that blends Celtic music with swing. Simon composes much of their material. Simon’s music is infused with influences from his Donegal heritage, his many years in Edinburgh’s musical hotbed, his pioneering Asturian connection playing with the iconic Llan de Cubel and his current residence in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. All three musicians have toured globally with different bands (Fine Friday, Llan de Cubel, Fred Morrison) and are experienced music educators lecturing with the University of the Highlands and Islands where they met and developed this new project.
Dale Miller (USA)
Dale Miller, now an elder in the American finger-Style guitar fraternity, was a pioneering guitarist and arranger in the 70s and 80s. Dale was one of the first finger-style players to arrange swing and big band standards for solo acoustic guitar. He developed a style of unique grace and complexity characterised by clear melodies syncopated against walking bass lines. Dale’s style has been called, “Just perfect!” Dale’s recordings with Kicking Mule records are highly valued by collectors. Now retired he is still a fine player and a gentle singer of blues, folk and jazz standards.
Kate Rowe and Ryan Morrison (Australia)
Delightful songwriters, Kate Rowe and Ryan Morrison, team up for a funny, thoughtful and beguiling show. Their songs feature intertwining harmonies and great stories. Listening to them is a little like drinking Baileys: it’s sweet and smooth, but there’s a kick underneath. Kate was the 2010 Australian Songwriters Association’s “Songwriter of the Year”, and won a prestigious Lennon Award in the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Ryan is an up-and-coming songwriter and choir leader from Perth who has a voice like melting chocolate, and also performs with the infamous Spooky Men’s Chorale.
