The countdown is on until Castlemaine’s highly anticipated second annual Town Folk Festival on Saturday February 11.
Bringing together 16 of the best contemporary artists from across Victoria and beyond, Town Folk Festival celebrates diverse, compelling and exciting music, which all fits vaguely or specifically under the ever-widening umbrella of folk.
The one-day festival will take place on Dja Dja Wurrung Country across four stages in three venues, The Bridge Hotel, Shedshaker Brewing and Boomtown Winery, all a short walking distance from each other and packed with an afternoon-into-evening of musical greatness, food, drinks and company.
Town Folk Festival founder, Bridge Hotel owner and Applejack Music promoter, Jeremy Furze, said Town Folk Festival began as an idea to get some of his favourite contemporary folk bands and musicians together in one place and celebrate music of a slower, softer persuasion.
“This kind of music is often overlooked by mainstream media and events but there’s a wonderful community around it,” Jeremy said.
“The festival is held across The Bridge, Shedshaker Taproom and Boomtown Winery, and has been made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors like Don Smallgoods, The Mill, Mount Alexander Shire Council, Print Together and Klua Sathorn who will be cooking delicious Thai food for our dinner!” he said.
Those to feature will include local acts such as Big Scary, Felicity Cripps and The Maes and visiting artists Phoebe Go, Folk Bitch Trio, Jade Imagine, Maple Glider, The Rechords, Workhorse and many more.
Castlemaine’s Jo Syme from Big Scary looks forward to being part of the 2023 event.
“I went along to the first one in 2022 as a punter and I look forward to performing this time around on the outdoor stage alongside the Bridge Hotel with my Melbourne bandmate Tom Iansek,” Jo said.
The pair have been producing their own blend of alternative pop music for 15 plus years, and in recent years also started their own record label together in order to support and foster the work of other artists.
Drummer Syme and guitarist/pianist Iansek have had a busy couple of years also bringing out new albumsof their own Daisy in 2021 and Me & You in 2022 and look forward to sharing a mix of new music and old faves with Syme’s home crowd.
“We had a successful tour of six shows along Australia’s East and South coast in 2022 including Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal. This will be our first time playing the Town Folk Festival,” Syme said.
“It was a fantastic vibe last year and will be lovely to have friends and family there to support us.”
For the full lineup and tickets visit www.townfolkfestival.com
