The Spooky Men’s Chorale has been described as ‘a vast, rumbling, steam-powered and black-clad behemoth of mansound‘ and it’s headed to Creswick to perform as part of next month’s CresFest.

In their performances of (literally) breath-taking harmony singing and comedy, the Spooky Men draw on a combination of musical and theatrical values including Georgian male polyphony, a running joke on man as a vast, oblivious useless object, whispers of clown, bouffon and Monty Python, and forays into massively pleasurable grunting tribalism.

Their 800+ crowd-pleasing gigs have included WOMAD, The Great Escape Festival, the Woodford, Cobargo, Port Fairy, Blue Mountains and Bellingen festivals.

They’ve appeared on Spicks and Specks, The Mix and The New Inventors, performed live on ABC radio many times and have earned great international acclaim including WOMAD New Zealand and more than nine UK tours.

These spooky blokes hail from NSW and are among the headline acts that will be performing at this year’s CresFest that’s set to transform the little township of Creswick with a feast of live acts and participatory fun held over three days April 5-7.

Acts on the program include Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse (WA), The Cherry Pickers (SA), T-Bone (New Zealand), Melisande (Canada), Guanaco Trio (Argentina), Linn Phipps (UK), Chutney (NSW) Michael Waugh, and Jen Hawley’s Gypsy Jazz Jam.

The diverse line-up of artists performing as part of the program complements a wide array of participatory workshops with a focus firmly on the community not only watching, but also being part of the fun.

The event’s big emphasis on community involvement is a main reason why the annual festival took out the Best Community Project gong at last year’s Australian Folk Music Awards.

Local community groups who will be particpating, and inviting festival goers to join in as well, include Creswick Ukestra, Creswick Kids Choir, Creswick Chorus, Creswick Drum Circle ,Creswick ‘Street’ band, Creswick’s Friday night ‘jammers’.

Tickets to the award-winning festival are currently available via the festival’s dedicated website.

Hailing from Argentina, Guanaco Trio is headed to CresFest.

The trio is made up of Laura Urteaga (Argentina/Spain) on violin, Owen Salomé (Australia) on bandoneón, and Benjamín Aedo (Chile) on guitar.

They perform a compelling repertoire of original compositions and interpretations of traditional and contemporary Argentine folkloric music.

The players share a deep love and respect for the tradition of Argentine folk music and have all undertaken formal classical music training.

The Guanaco Trio creates new music that is both innovative and respectful of the tradition they are a part of and their music will be presented in concerts and workshops across the festival that takes place over April 5-7.

Acts include Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse (WA), The Cherry Pickers (SA), T-Bone (New Zealand), Melisande (Canada), Spooky Men’s Chorale (NSW), Linn Phipps (UK), Chutney (NSW) Michael Waugh, and Jen Hawley’s Gypsy Jazz Jam with tickets on sale online.

The diverse line-up of artists set to perform as part of the festival program complement a wide array of participatory workshops with a focus on the community not only watching, but also being part of the fun.

The event’s big emphasis on community involvement is a main reason why the annual festival took out the Best Community Project gong at last year’s Australian Folk Music Awards.

Local community groups who will be particpating, and inviting festival goers to join in as well, include Creswick Ukestra, Creswick Kids Choir, Creswick Chorus, Creswick Drum Circle ,Creswick ‘Street’ band, Creswick’s Friday night ‘jammers’.

Creswick is celebrating after its comparatively new home-grown folk music festival CresFest was announced as a finalist in the prestigious Australian Folk Music Awards.

The annual festival has been announced among the 2023 finalists in the category Community/Cultural Project of the Year.

The finalists were announced on Friday 1 September and Judy Turner, Director of CresFest said that the news is “a wonderful way to welcome in spring”.

“The whole CresFest team is so excited to learn of our inclusion in this year’s awards. We are certainly up against some excellent competition and are proud to be counted amongst other great contenders.”

CresFest 2023 showcased over 300 musicians over three days from 31 March – 2 April. With upwards of 2000 ticket holders who enjoyed 150 paid and free performances of folk and roots music, Creswick was alive with enthusiastic performers, volunteers, locals and, of course, visitors.

CresFest 2023 introduced new initiatives to complement the vocal and instrumental performances. They included Light Up Creswick, in partnership with the Bendigo Bank, where performance electrician Gary Miles lit up the historic buildings; at the Courthouse in depth conversations with writers, musicians and artists; workshops and fun events at the Creswick Woollen Mills, University of Melbourne and the Creswick IGA.

“It’s interesting to note that many of the finalists in other categories all performed at CresFest 2023. This clearly demonstrates that CresFest is hitting the right mark with its line-up of amazing musicians. And CresFest 2024 is going to be just as exciting,” Ms Turner said.

A panel of judges from around Australia selected the entries and the announcement of the nine winners from all categories will be made On Wednesday 25 October in Melbourne.

with Darren Lowe

CresFest 23
From little things, big things grow. This festival went leaps and bounds toward
establishing itself as a fixture on the music calendar in its second year, demonstrating
a level of professionalism, confidence and maturity which was admirable and a credit
to all involved.

This year ironed out a few glitches, ticketing being more streamlined and the
sheer volume and good nature of volunteers helping to run the festival to make the
spread of venues feel inclusive, unified, with a strong, palpable, sense of community.
Creswick had some beautiful venues and performers were suited to the room, the
audience and the acoustics.

Upstairs The American hosted a lovely opening ceremony then a constant stream of solo, duos and bands. I was lucky enough to hear Greg Champion, pictured, entertain a roomful of admirers followed by Cat Canteri with her heartfelt personal tales of inner city gut-wrenching material, where you could
almost hear the audience holding their breath.
Archer, as always, is mesmerizing, channelling classic US mavericks such as Hank
Williams, somehow incorporating Americana seamlessly into Outback Australian
yarns, where it all makes sense. Combine this with Appalachian songstress, picker and
two step dancer, Martha Spencer and you have a perfect combination.
Leavers Hotel is an amazing venue, often reaching capacity early but you wouldn’t
change a thing to affect the ambience, even if you can’t always get in.
The Town Hall held a range of acts in a traditional concert set up. The town’s
community centre, primary schools, churches and halls all became functioning
performance venues. There were plenty of free gigs in The Farmers Arms pub and at
various outdoor venues.
Sound was impeccable at all venues with stage managers running the gigs like
clockwork. The word was out with impromptu jams occurring on the street and in
the pubs with a distinct Celtic flavour.
The organising committee should be commended. Arising bravely in a nervous,
not quite post-Covid environment, we now have a fully-fledged, mature and inspiring
local festival. Make sure you get there in ’24.
Gig Guide
Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford
Friday, April 14, 6pm – Ania (piano sessions)
Saturday, April 15, 6pm – The Martini Set
Sunday, April 16, 5pm – Rosario De Marco
Thursday, April 20, 6pm – Don Morrison
Friday, April 21, 6pm – Kim and the Meme
Saturday, April 22, 8pm – Isabel Rumble
Sunday, April 23, 5pm – Katankin
Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn
Friday, April 14 – Stevie Rigby & guests
Saturday, April 15 – D’Arcy Spiller & guests
Friday, April 21 – Honeyfields & Corn Nut Creek
Friends for over 20 years, Honeyfields’ bond was forged through sitting around
kitchen tables or campfires singing and playing their favourite songs and tunes.
Formerly known as The Beenies, they have performed together at major venues and
festivals across Australia.
Bound together through sisterhood with a spiritual connection to nature,
Corn Nut Creek’s Danielle Vita and Tanya Bradley are storytellers whose original
songs draw upon the traditions of Appalachian music. They were finalists and
awarded Jurors’ Top Five in the 2020 Blues and Roots Radio International Song
Competition.
Saturday, April 22 – Stewart D’Arrietta – Tom Waits for No Man
Wombat Forest Vineyard
Saturday, April 15 – Annual Locals’ Day – Music by Jared Brentnall, 1pm-4pm
Got a gig? Email news@tlnews.com.au