Festival heats up Huon
UP to 18,000 people are expected at this weekend’s fifth annual Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival — and they’ll be treated to a wild line-up of musical acts playing everything from folk to funk to freaky space jazz.
Musicians will perform across three stages — the Main Stage, the Storytelling Tent and the Apple Shed — with highlights sure to include sets by three Melbourne acts: VulgarGrad, who play vodka-fuelled folk funk polka punk criminal songs straight from the gulag; genre-mashing festival favourites 8Foot Felix, who blend ska, funk, blues, hip-hop, Balkan beats and sea shanties; and musician/circus performer Blunderbuss Jones, who will warm things up with his propane-fuelled, fire-breathing “Flaming Blunderbuss” trumpet.
Other bands set to perform include The Vegetable Plot (2pm Sunday), Black Swans of Trespass (8.45pm Saturday), DENNI (9pm Saturday), Little Bear (3.15pm Sunday), Meyers & McNamara (10.30am Sunday), The Bootleg Gin Sluggers (6pm tomorrow and 12.45pm Sunday), The Dominic Francis Grief Ensemble (9.45pm tomorrow and 7pm Saturday), Lagoon Hill Zydeco (6.30pm tomorrow and 12.15pm Sunday), The Dead Maggies (7pm Saturday), The Stragglers (5.30pm tomorrow and 5pm Saturday), the Rueben Reeves Band (8.30pm tomorrow and 3.15pm Saturday), and Tovaresh (roving performances across the festival).
Solo acts will include former drummer for The Drones, Mike Noga (8.30pm tomorrow), Chris Coleman (6.30pm tomorrow), Ville Karvonen (3pm Saturday), Warren Mason (2.30pm Saturday), Thomas Mitchell (3pm Sunday) and Hairyman (5pm Saturday).
The festival will also feature plenty of good old-fashioned storytelling, with the MACq 01 Storytellers Cup to be contested on Saturday night. The Wayfinder — Tasmania’s first mobile storytelling studio — will make its debut appearance at the festival, with founder Helene Thomas collecting stories of all kinds: from real-life to myths, legends and fairytales.
The Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival runs from 5pm tomorrow until 4.30pm Sunday. Tickets start at $15 (plus booking fee), and return buses from Hobart and Cygnet available. Bookings and details www.huonvalleymidwinterfest.com.au