Another fabulous Port Fairy Folk Festival has come and gone and the boys and girl survived three days and nights of stellar music and the rigors of the celebrity crush of the Green Room after-hours bar. Having attended the PFFF for about 16 years I’ve seen it grow and grow and it takes a lot of stamina to get through it all, especially as a performer. Consequently, I’ve been a little quiet on the blog front as I recover. Even so, it’s always an inspiring festival.
Playing with The Cornhuskers, we took to the stage at The Lighthouse Cafe early on Saturday evening and were well-received by an enthusiastic audience of old-school aficionados, with a repeat performance on Sunday evening. A local couple who watched us on Saturday were so impressed they returned on Sunday, pronouncing The Cornhuskers their favourite act of the weekend. Gotta love that!
The most satisfying gig of the weekend was the Seagrass session at St Pat’s Hall, where a couple of hundred old-school fans were treated to showcase performances by The Lawnmowers, The Mammals (US), Dev’lish Mary, The Wise Family Band and The Cornhuskers (Wouldn’t Mind Dying sound file). St Pat’s is a great venue for presenting acoustic acts with minimal sound reinforcement, and there’s nothing like putting a bunch of bands from the same musical neck of the woods to inspire the players to give their best. Some highlights included Ruth Ungar singing Lady Be Good with The Lawnmowers, and Dev’lish Mary’s Blue Moon of Kentucky. Ruth is daughter of Jay Ungar, the fiddle player who wrote the haunting theme, Ashokan Farewell, from Ken Burn’s ground-breaking documentary, The Civil War.
My personal highlights included a kick-ass set from Kevin Bennett’s The Flood at the Shebeen Bar, including a guitar-ripping tribute to Billy Thorpe, and being roped in to perform at the Australian Made & Played concert. The Made & Played concert features performances with Australian-made instruments. Slim has a hand-made John McGrath dobro and was accompanied by Chips on a Jim Matheus guitar and Mr Spiller on a Ray Black Mandolin.
Ah, you wouldn’t be dead for quids!
Filed under: Music
