More than 50 acts for band reunion
Amass musical reunion celebrating six decades of homegrown Wimmera pub music next year looms as one of the biggest events on the region’s musical events calendar.
The 60 Years of Wimmera Rock event in Horsham has attracted a final list of 48 bands and six individual performers, with people from across Australia confirming plans to be involved.
Horsham Rural City Council has joined project instigators as part of a community collaboration to ensure the event is the equal of or even better than a similar 50 Years of Wimmera Rock 10 years ago.
Horsham venue manager Shana Miatke said the festival had generated considerable excitement and would provide an opportunity to use many of the city’s venues to engage the community in a revival of live music.
She said enthusiasm from past and present bands reuniting and performing for the occasion was paramount to the event’s success.
“Artists from the past and present, emerging and professional will be part of an innovative and interesting music festival, something that our community has expressed in our recent audience development strategy consultation,” she said.
Event organisers now have a major logistics task of programming the huge diversity of the bands during the three-days, scheduled from February 7 to 9 next year.
They will program the bands at several venues including Horsham Town Hall, Sawyer Park Soundshell and Horsham Showground, and are encouraging bands to reconnect with Horsham district hotels, clubs and other establishments.
The event is the brainchild of Horsham’s Lynton Brown, the event’s creative producer, who co-ordinated a similar event 10 years ago.
“I’m incredibly humbled by the enthusiasm of the bands that have embraced the idea of reforming, and performing for our community,” he said. “It’s 10 years on, from what was an amazing event with the 50 Years of Wimmera Rock. What will the next event be like?”
Expressions of interest for acts keen to perform at the event closed on February 28 and an official festival launch is scheduled for April 5.
Despite a similar number of bands performing in 2009, interest in this year’s event has far exceeded expectations.
Mr Brown initially expected about a dozen bands to respond to the idea.
People can follow 60 Years of Wimmera Rock on Facebook or visit the horshamtownhall.com.au for updates. Bands: Ferdy van derriet-sonamatics, Acousticus Stomp, All the King’s Men, Bata Scouts, Bitz ‘N’ Pieces, Black Market, Blackboard Jungle, Blurred Lines, Coyote Duster, Crome, Doin’ Time, Fraydnot, Fyerfly, Goofinger, Grey Nurse, Hard Face Nanna, Inspiration, Johnny Thunder and the Lightnings, Last Stand, Likely Ones, Looseball Gooseball, Loungeroom Lizards, Marauder, Next of Kin, No Plans, Phatt, Rift, Riviera, Second Thoughts-circus Animals, Shades of Troopers Creek, Smoke Witch, Spectacle, Spice, Stiff Legged Goats, Sultana Frizell, The Bunts, The Draculas, The Rusty Springs Band, The Shorts, The Spatts, The Woodsmen, Them Apples, Theme, Tres Hobres and Friends, U-jorgan, Viscera, Wimmera Blues Brothers and X-amount. Individual performers: Chris Taylor, Craig Sayer, Rick Stephens, Simon Skurrie, T. B. Whiteside and Darryn Wardle.