Where: Bermagui and surrounds When: Thursday 18 April - Sunday 21 April
Enjoy music from morning to late afternoon in the Sound Shell, complemented by stunning recitals in the Windsong Pavilion. The program in the Sound Shell encompasses world music, jazz and classical music. Musicians from Australia and overseas will be performing in small ensembles as well as coming together to form an orchestra as part of Sunday’s ‘Beethoven in the Bush’ gala performance.
There are house concerts in Wapengo and Tanja, as well as a world music gig in Tilba. Large-scale events at the festival kick-off on Easter Friday with a free event on the Dickinson Oval, taking its inspiration from Lady Jane, a disused Bermagui Fishing Boat. It will feature original music by celebrated singer-songwriter and composer Eliza Hull, performing live. You will hear stories from the Yuin community and see the Gulaga Dancers perform at the opening of the event. Many musicians who are in Bermagui for the festival will join the performance, which will also feature local dancers who are creating work especially for this event, led by Tathra-based choreographer Lee Pemberton.
Other events include a children’s concert in the Community Centre on Easter Friday morning inspired by Banjo Patterson's book Mulga Bill’s Bicycle. It promises to be vibrant, madcap musical reinterpretation of this much loved children’s picture book. The performance is aimed at primary school aged children but will appeal to everyone connected with their inner child. After dark events bring the festival to the Surf Club on Easter Saturday and Sunday evenings. Sitar master ‘Sarangan' provides the focus for a world-music inspired collaboration on Saturday, whilst Narooma folk band ‘Malumba’ perform on Sunday evening before hosting a folk session for anyone who wants to bring their instrument and play along. There will be a bar as well as food available at these gigs, provided by the wonderful Kelly Eastwood. The Surf Club is also hosting two early-morning yoga sessions which feature the sublime sounds of the Japanese bamboo flute – the perfect way to get into a day of music.
There will be six free pop-up performances in locations around town over the weekend; everything from a choir to a solo percussionist, from a singer-songwriter at the hotel to piano duets. There are buses to Four Winds from Batemans Bay and Moruya in the north and Pambula, Merimbula and Bega in the south.
