Woodford Folk Festival
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| Woodford Folk Festival | |
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 Official Artwork for the 2015/2016 Woodford Folk Festival.
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| Genre | Various |
| Dates | 27 December – 1 January |
| Location(s) | Woodford, Queensland, Australia |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Founded by | Queensland Folk Federation, Bill Hauritz, Amanda Jackes |
| Website | |
| www.woodfordfolkfestival.com | |
The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford,[1] 72 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia.[1] Every year approximately 125,000 patrons attend the festival. Approximately 2000 performers and 438 events are programmed featuring local, national and international guests.
The festival takes place over six days and nights from 27 December to 1 January each year.[1] It features a wide range of performance styles, musical genres and nationalities, with artists playing at over 35 different venues within the festival grounds.[1] Along with musical acts, the festival offers a wide spectrum of entertainment such as Street Performing, Public Speaking, Stand-Up Comedy and a Children's Festival. The streets are lined with restaurants, cafes, stalls, bars, street theatre and parades. The festival supplies both Seasonal and Overnight camping ground to patrons with many attendees staying for the entire week of festivities.
The 3 Minutes Silence is a recurring Woodford tradition, part of the New Year's Eve celebrations where everyone within the festival grounds gathers for 3 minutes of candle-lit silence to welcome the new year. A Sunrise Ceremony takes place on the Woodfordia hilltop on New Year's Day, festival patrons greet the Sun as they listen to Tibetan chants and Guest Musicians on the grassy hill. The final evening of the festival culminates in a spectacular New Year's Day closing ceremony, the Fire Event.[2]
Location
Unlike many festivals which are held in or near urban centres, the Woodford Folk Festival takes place on a 250 hectare rural property known as Woodfordia, situated approximately 7 kilometres North of the Sunshine Coast town of Woodford. The land is owned by the Queensland Folk Federation, who are the producers of the festival.
History
The Woodford Folk Festival developed from the Maleny Folk Festival which began in Maleny in 1987.[1] In 1994, the festival was moved 20 km away to Woodford when it outgrew the Maleny Showgrounds site.[1]
The final evening of the Woodford festival culminates in a spectacular New Year's Day closing ceremony, Fire Event.[2] Over 20,000 festival goers seated on the grassed Amphitheater hillside witness a spectacle of dance, music, theatricality and fire - with the burning of a large structure heralding the New Year.[2] The Fire Event was developed by Neil Cameron at the former Maleny festival and continued at Woodford, Paul Lawler worked with Cameron and took over as creative director of the event from 2003 - 2011, followed by Joey Ruigrok Van De Werven from 2012 - 2014, and Alex Podger from 2014.[2] The
January 2000 Fire Event was featured in the global live TV broadcast heralding the new millennium.
In 2005–2006 a record aggregate attendance of over 130,000 visitors attended the festival, injecting $21 million into the Queensland economy.[3]
In 2008, the festival won the FasterLouder Festival Award for the most Green Friendly festival.[4]
In 2014, the festival attracted more than 126,000 patrons and generated 22 million dollars in direct visitor spending
The Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015, transforming from a homegrown event to one of the largest cultural celebrations in the southern hemisphere and welcoming more than 2 million people since 1994.
Performers
The yearly line-ups below exhibit some of the headline acts from past Woodford Folk Festivals:
2004–2005[5]
- Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, Doch, Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls, The Waifs, Bomba, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Boat People, Rebecca Wright, Resin Dogs, Butterfingers, Afro Dizzi Act, Jeff Lang Band, Hot Rubber Glove, Pty Ltd, Kooii, Ash Grunwald, and Kafka.
2005–2006[5]
- The Cat Empire, Pete Murray, Kate Miller-Heidke, Doch, Bomba, Jodi Martin, Wild Marmalade, Tribalicious, Tommee and the Neighbourhood, That 1 Guy, Sophie Koh, Circle of Rhythm, Rob Longstaff Band, Mia Dyson, LABJACD, Kafka, Jambezi, Genticorum, Blue King Brown, Afro Dizzi Act, and Ash Grunwald.
2006–2007[5]
- The John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, Youth Group, Lior, Angus and Julia Stone, The Herd, The Beautiful Girls, Blue King Brown, Resin Dogs, Tim Freedman, Jeff Lang, The Bird, The Audreys, Ash Grunwald, Kate Miller-Heidke, Jodi Martin, LABJACD, Kooii, Kafka, Leo, That 1 Guy, Hamell on Trial, Waiting For Guinness Umbilical Brothers, The Black Market Rhythm Co. and Tripod.
- Bobby Flynn also made an uncredited and unexpected appearance and performed.
2007–2008
- Backsliders, The Cat Empire, Angus and Julia Stone, Babylon Circus, The Waifs, Sarah Blasko, Jackson Jackson, Blue King Brown, Archie Roach, Lola The Vamp, James Morrison, Mia Dyson, Tinpan Orange, The Toothfaeries, Blue Grassy Knoll, Ernie Dingo, Dick Desert, Mojo Webb & Band, Women In Docs, The NEO, Worldfly, The Black Market Rhythm Co., The Quills and many more.
2008–2009[6]
- Backsliders, Josh Pyke, The Herd, Hermitude, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Gin Club, Bob Evans, The Ellis Collective, Ash Grunwald, Augie March, Dead Letter Circus, Jeff Lang, Waiting For Guinness, Lior.
2009–2010
- John Butler Trio, The Middle East, Lisa Mitchell, James Morrison, The Panics, Kaki King, Deep Blue Orchestra, Lola The Vamp, Afro Dizzi Act, Chocolate Strings, Hungry Kids of Hungary, Clare Bowditch, Emma Dean, Whitley, Tinpan Orange, Tripod, Dubmarine, Endorphin
2010–2011
- The Cat Empire , Arrested Development, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan and The Captains, Blue King Brown, Archie Roach(Archie Roach could not perform due to medical issues, a tribute show was held and other performers at the festival played his songs), Lola The Vamp, Dick Desert, Jeff Lang, Lior, You Am I, Edge of Colour (Michelle Xen) and Siobhan Owen
2011–2012
- Gotye, Xavier Rudd, Cloud Control, The Herd, Owl Eyes, Jesca Hoop, Andy Bull, Tripod, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro, Busby Marou, Husky, Eagle and The Worm, Tinpan Orange, Die Roten Punkte, Lola The Vamp, The Medics, Hanggai, Joe Robinson, The Red Eyes, Matt Andersen, Elixir (featuring Katie Noonan), Brothers Grim and Siobhan Owen
2012–2013
- John Butler Trio, Angus Stone, Julia Stone, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katchafire, Darren Percival and Band, Archie Roach, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Hermitude, Will & The People, Sticky Fingers, Urthboy, Warsaw Village Band, Nicky Bomba's Bustamento, Emma Louise, The Saints, Angry Tradesmen
2013–2014
- Matt Corby, Babylon Circus, Julian Marley, Beth Orton, Clare Bowditch, Peatbog Faeries, Rachel Sermanni, Blue King Brown, Chance Waters, Breabach, Tim Finn, Half Moon Run, The Break , Dubmarine, Kingfisha, The Twoks, Bearded Gypsy Band, Barleyshakes, Bubsy Marou
2014–2015
- The Cat Empire , Violent Femmes, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Kate Miller-Heidke, Bertie Blackman, Sticky Fingers (band), Archie Roach, Jeff Lang, Christine Anu, Del Barber, Shooglenifty, Hiatus Kaiyote, Mia Dyson, Caravana Sun, We Two Thieves, The East Pointers, Starboard Cannons, Flap!
2015–2016
- Michael Franti, San Cisco, The Paper Kites, Kim Churchill, The East Pointers, Courtney Barnett, Josh Pyke, Katie Noonan, Davidson Brothers, Backsliders, Lanie Lane, Astronomy Class, Dougie MacLean, The Poozies, The Duhks, Ganga Giri, Dubmarine, Starboard Cannons, Barleyshakes
Controversies
In 2011, organisers of the festival were criticised for inviting Meryl Dorey, president of anti-vaccination group the Australian Vaccination Network to speak at the festival.[7][8] The Australian Medical Association described the group's views as "dangerous", and said organisers "had a responsibility to add speakers who could provide the medically approved side of the argument" so the audience were aware of "the risk of the information being presented [by Ms Dorey]". In response, festival director Bill Hauritz defended Dorey's appearance, saying "We've had a number of speakers, environmentalists and such, who have been discredited by some people in the past, this is no different."[9] Queensland Health Minister Geoff Wilson advised attendees "not to take [Meryl's] nonsense too seriously".[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Woodford Folk Festival Visitor Survey Report 2005/06
- ↑ FasterLouder Festival Awards: 2008
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Woodford Folk Festival. Australian Music Festivals. Retrieved on 13 January 2012.
- ↑ Woodford Folk Festival 2008/2009. Live Guide. Retrieved on 13 January 2012.
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External links
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- Use dmy dates from January 2012
- Use Australian English from January 2012
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Music festivals in Australia
- Folk festivals in Australia
- Festivals in Queensland
- Recurring events established in 1987
- South East Queensland
- 1987 establishments in Australia
- Music festivals established in 1994
