The program for the 2019 Illawarra Folk Festival has been released, with multi-award-winning Country Music star Darren Coggan and acclaimed Indigenous singer Emily Wurramara the feature acts of the opening night leading into a packed four-day line-up of Australian and international performers.
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The 34th Illawarra Folk Festival kicks off on Thursday, January 17 at Bulli Showground and continues until January 20.
Coggan, who now calls Helensburgh home, is a masterful story-teller through his original songs and his interpretations of such artists as Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Glenn Campbell. He will be playing at 9.30pm on opening night.
Coggan will be performing at the Slacky Flat Bar stage, straight after Wurramara, who hails from Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory. Passionate about the land, her language and culture, she sings in both English and Annandilyakwa – her first language.
Thursday night also features another Indigenous highlight of the Illawarra Folk Festival – Jessie Lloyd’s profoundly moving Mission Songs Project, which reveals through song what life was like for Indigenous Australians living on Christian missions and state-run settlements.
While Coggan will be performing just once at Bulli Showground - he will be heading straight to the Tamworth Country Music Festival after his show - Wurramara and the Mission Songs Project both have four shows throughout the festival.
Artistic director David De Santi said with 11 venues spread around the Bulli Showground precinct, organisers could make sure that most of the festival’s 160 acts could perform multiple times.
“The beauty of the Illawarra Folk Festival is that almost every act performs more than once, so you can make sure that you don’t miss out on the artists you really want to see,” he said.
“We have 75 new acts this year, as well as many old favourites, and there will be something for everyone.”
Headline act and one of the hottest acts touring Australia in 2019, Irish Mythen, will be performing twice at Bulli – on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
The Irish-born, Canadian-based singer-songwriter wowed audiences with her power-packed performances at the 2016 Illawarra Folk Festival, and organisers are delighted to welcome her back in January.
Other festival highlights include bluegrass rebels The Pigs, who play on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, and the Miriam Lieberman Trio who perform on Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning.
International acts include Albi & The Wolves and Jenny Mitchell from New Zealand, Coral Reid, Ilana Kravitz and Winter Wilson from the UK, Dennis J Leise and Ken Field’s Hoot Band from the US, Sophie and Fiachra from Ireland and Fru Skaggerak from Sweden.
“2019 will herald a new era of new emerging and established acts. The Illawarra Folk Festival has been renowned for recognising new talent but also not forgetting its traditional folk roots,” Mr De Santi said.
“It’s very exciting to have such a diverse collection of musicians from all over Australia and the world come to celebrate in our folk village.
“We are also pleased to announce our largest ever female content at the festival with 45 per cent representation in the acts and actual participant numbers. It’s a recognition of the contribution women have made to the folk music movement”.
Mr De Santi described the four-day festival as a “smorgasbord of musicians, singers, bands, poets, comedians and dancers, with something for everyone”.
The Early Bird ticket offer at $150 represents a saving of $145 for a four day Season Pass. The offer ends on December 23. Visit www.illawarrafolkfestival.com.au
