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| "AUSTRAL" at the 2023 National Folk Festival. Canberra. |
EPIC - Canberra 6th - 10th April 2023
Opening Night Concert - Thursday 6th April - reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
After a
shaky start to the year, when its very existence was threatened, the National
Folk Festival has powered back into 2023 with a revitalised and invigorated program,
headlined by Billy Bragg, The Waifs, and an impressive line-up of established
and emerging artists who celebrate the festival’s roots while at the same time
signposting future directions.
Offering a
veritable taste-plate of the imaginative programming typifying the broadening
ambitions of the 2023 festival, the Opening Night Concert featured six of the
headline acts and commenced with a spectacular entrance through the audience by
the ACT Emergency Services Pipes and Drums.
Compere, Zev
Aviv, introduced Ngunnawal elder, Dr. Caroline Hughes, who offered a graceful 'Welcome to Country' in which she acknowledged the passing of Auntie Agnes Shea as well as the 15th Anniversary of the Stolen Generation, after which Ngunnawal
elder, Jude Barlow sang a moving rendition of
the Archie Roach song, “Took My Children Away”.
The first of
the featured acts was the celebrated four-piece Australian Celtic ensemble, “Austral”, fresh from having won “The Traditional Folk Album of the Year” at the 2022
Australian Folk Music Awards. “Austral” offered an exhilarating, high-energy
selection which ensured that they will be one of the “must-see” acts during the
festival.
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| Kavisha Mazzella |
Aria-Award winner, Kavisha Mazzella, enthralled with the gorgeous textures of her voice and her selection of songs which began with the haunting “Invisible” and included a delightful tribute to “Victoria Market”.
Considered
one of Australia’s most significant indigenous songwriters, Frank Yamma offered
an arresting selection of his deeply personal songs sung with a gutsy
authenticity that provided an intriguing contrast to the cultured vocals of
Ukrainian songbird, Larissa Kovalchuk, who, wearing a gorgeously beaded costume, and accompanying herself on the bandura, enchanted with her selection of
Ukrainian folk songs.
An ensemble
called The Lost Clog had the audience in stitches with their program of saucy
Lithuanian folk songs, before surprising by ending their selection with a passionately
sung dedication to their Ukrainian neighbours.
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| "We Mavericks" |
An award-winning New Zealand duo, “We Mavericks”, delighted with their musicianship and tight harmonies and their selection of gritty, evocative original songs; before the Greek ensemble, Apodimi Compania took the stage.
An ensemble which originated in Brunswick in
Melbourne’s inner North, and which for the past 12 years has been resident in Athens, Apodimi Compania last appeared at the National Folk Festival in 2017. Even though still recovering from
their 20- hour flight to Canberra; Apodimi Compania brought the program to a scintillating
conclusion with a fascinating selection of traditional Rebetika, Greek and
Cretan song and dance music.
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| "Apodimi Compania" |
