Small Halls folk tour nears its destination
Adrian Black |
A folk music tour of southeast Australia’s smallest town halls is coming to a close after roughly 20 shows, thousands of kilometres and more than 120 different beds since mid-March.
The Festival of Small Halls, an initiative from the minds behind Queensland’s Woodford Folk Festival, has been touring community town halls across Victoria, with some shows over the borders in SA and NSW.
“Every year we do five tours, so Victoria, NSW, Queensland and WA, and we just love what we do,” tour manager Emma-Lee Whyte told AAP.
Canadian-American troubadour Scott Cook, along with Melbourne/Narrm outfit Folk Bitch Trio and local artist Mallee Damm serenaded locals at the Mitta Mitta community hall on Wednesday night, with dulcet harmonies and rich storytelling.
“It is really such an honour to be welcomed here into your community,” Mr Cook told the crowd.
“We’ve been in a lot of different places on this trip. I don’t want to pick favourites but I must say y’all live in a beautiful place.”
The tour supports communities to help them put on a show in their local hall, bring people together and provide a platform for fundraising.
“We’ve had people meet their neighbours, we’ve had people make new friends and other people feel more at home in their community,” Ms Whyte told AAP.
“So we’re very, very, very passionate about coming.”
The tour has visited 18 halls since departing from the Port Fairy Folk Festival in mid-March and artists will take their final bows at a Woodfordia campsite on Lake Gkula in Queensland on Saturday and Sunday.
“It will be 122 beds by the time the tour is finished,” Ms Whyte said.
The Festival of Small Halls’ next leg will continue across southwest WA with Colin Lillie and Scotland’s Iona Fyfe from April 19 to May 7, before performances in NSW and Queensland.
AAP
