Mullum Music Festival
14–17 November 2019
For over a decade now the patrons of Mullum Music Festival have brainstormed innovative projects to add to the creative footprint of this much-loved annual event. Mullum Music Festival is a festival with no VIP areas. It’s about artists and festival goers all being part of the musical melting-pot. Each year, the official festival patrons find a way to make their contribution meaningful, which means, as time goes on, it becomes a challenge to come up with something that hasn’t been done before! Rising to the challenge for their second and final year as patrons are Husky!
This year, Husky Gawenda and Gideon Priess have decided, after doing some musical collaborations with friends last year, that 2019 is all about going way-out of the ballpark with something left-field. Something that includes sound AND vision!
Welcome to First Kiss Goodnight Matt Redlich, as a producer and co-writer, and visual designer Erin Van Occi will produce video, music and images for some of Gideon and Husky’s newest side-project. The idea is to present the songs in a casual setting where the audience can come and dance and hang out and be part of this very organic music and visual exploration.
Gideon Priess is excited about what’s in store this year. ‘It’s this project that grew organically out of late night sessions, after we finished recording the Husky music and we wanted to keep the music going. It’s a free, open and inspired project. Matt had this old friend Erin, and sent her visuals, and she sent back these videos we thought were amazing. But the project hasn’t been officially launched. We are excited, no one out there has heard of it yet – we want to present this music and video at a late night hub with artists doing pop ups! That’s what I love about Glenn and the festival – you can go with any idea and they are up for it!’
As patrons, Husky will also be presenting a solo show where he shares some gems from his artist’s catalogue; including unreleased songs, songs that haven’t been played publicly before, and songs that are still being formed.
And of course, at night Gideon will do what he does best – host a wild and swinging Piano Bar frequented by an accidental ensemble of whomever makes it up the stairs! Last year this tiny improvised gig was one of the festival highlights.
Says Gideon of Husky’s festival involvement: ‘In our second year as patrons of our favourite festival on the planet, we’re stoked to present three of our new side projects – Husky Gawenda solo (Friday eve), Gideon Preiss Piano Bar (Every evening) and First Kiss Goodnight (Late nights).
Come see us, hear us, hang out with us, dance with us and be yourself with us. There will be music and love and madness in the air – trust us.’
Mullum Music Festival | 14–17 November www.mullummusicfestival.com
Amber & Stukulele’s ‘Sing-A-Longs’ Uke Night
Ballina RSL | Thursday 10 October 6.30pm | $15
Quick – off the top of your head – what’s your favourite song to sing along to? Is it one that everyone knows the chorus? Miss Amber & Stukulele have compiled a ‘Sing-A-Longs’ Songbook for this month’s Ballina UKE NIGHT. So strap on your ukulele and warm up your voice…
There’s gonna be some roof raisin’ at the Ballina RSL on Thursday 10 October from 7pm. Get there at 6.30pm for a uke lesson! $15 per adult, $5 kids under 16. Sweet Caroline… Bah Bah Bah! Tix from ballinarsl.com.au or at reception
NORPA and Australian Chamber Orchestra Present Aco Collective, Serenade for Strings
Lismore City Hall | Friday 25 October | 7:30pm | Secret Chef Diner open from 6pm | Recommended for ages 8+ | $25-$59
The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is renowned for embracing celebrated classics alongside new commissions and Serenades for Strings is no exception. A romantic program of the finest classical music from Beethoven to Mendelssohn, mixed with an exciting new Australian work, Australian composer Paul Stanhope’s Dancing on Clouds from the Hush 18 Collective Wisdom Album.
Helena Rathbone, Principal Violin and founding Director of ACO Collective, celebrates her 25th year with the ACO and will lead a magical night playing a 260 year old Guadagnini violin. The evening will take you from Edward Elgar’s tranquil Serenade for Strings, to Beethoven’s delightful and optimistic Romance for violin and orchestra. Helena proves she is a romantic at heart and you will experience the youthful and energetic Sinfonia No.7 by Mendelssohn, and Beethoven’s great String Quartet as the finale that brings the night to a gripping end!
ACO Collective combines Australia’s most talented emerging string players with the professional musicians of the ACO to create a high-energy 17-piece string orchestra.
‘Music belongs to everyone. Australia is such a massive country, and I think what the ACO and ACO Collective are doing, through touring to regional parts of the country, is ensuring that all Australians have the opportunity to see their country’s best musicians perform. To bring music from other parts of the world and spread it through Australia is a task that we are very excited to play a small role in,’ says Pekka Kuusisto, ACO Collective Artistic Director.
While in Lismore, ACO Collective will also perform a concert for local school children and Northern Rivers Conservatorium string students will have the opportunity to play alongside ACO Collective musicians in a special workshop.
Lismore City Hall, Friday 25 October, 7.30pm. Secret Chef Diner open from 6pm. Recommended for ages 8+. Tickets: $25-$59. www.norpa.org.au | 1300 066 772
Falls Fest: Byron Bay
31 Dec–02 Jan
With the seasons changing and momentum gathering towards the pleasingly symmetrical New Year that will be 2020, Falls Festival’s first taste of the next decade is continuing to grow, sending expectations sky-high for new levels of fun and frivolity! Already overflowing with talent from around the world and our own backyard (ever heard of Halsey, Vampire Weekend, Disclosure or Peking Duk?), this year’s line-up has officially been injected with a highly legal dose of Vitamin D. Nationally, the perfect locales of Byron Bay, Marion Bay, Lorne and Fremantle will welcome imaginative Atlanta-based rapper Playboi Carti, ruthless rockers Bad//Dreems, force of nature Montaigne, inspired guitar masters Holy Holy and sun-soaked futurist Wave Racer.
Also appearing at every stop will be Elefant Traks alumni B Wise, jangling jackals, A. Swayze & The Ghost, the powerful vocals of Adrian Eagle, and fresh from Bigsound, up and coming rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. On a more bespoke front, joining Tash Sultana in treating fans to exclusive Byron Bay sets will be Thundamentals, Cosmo’s Midnight and fuzzy Brisbane favourites, Concrete Surfers. Over in Lorne, the already announced exclusive set by What So Not will be augmented via appearances by the preeminent pop perfection of The Jungle Giants, groove merchants Lime Cordiale, and Western Sydney whiz kid Kwame. Marion Bay will delight as Illy, Luca Brasi and Kat Edwards join the newly reinvigorated Wolfmother on the Falls Stage. And finally, Fremantle will see incredible scenes, as Lime Cordiale jump back on the wagon, with Sampa The Great and Sly Withers also joining in on the port-side New Year celebrations.
Tickets to all dates are on sale now, so act quickly and gather up the pack, lock in the logistics, and make that the turn of the decade is spent surrounded by music, arts, friends and nature at Falls Festival 2019 / 2020. Falls Fest: Byron Bay | 31 Dec–02 Jan | fallsfestival.com
Jai-Jagdeesh
Byron Theatre, Community Centre | Wednesday 9 October | 7.30pm
You’ll probably sing, you might dance, and you’ll definitely laugh. Jai-Jagdeesh and her band will finally debut their deeply groovy, soulfully heart-healing chants and insights in Byron Bay, Wednesday 9 October! ‘There is devotional music, and then there is music that is pure devotion. This is Jai-Jagdeesh. You can feel it. It flows from her lips like pure nectar of the Divine.’ Aykanna.
Jai-Jagdeesh has emerged as one of America’s leading chant artists in the kundalini yoga tradition. Her albums are acclaimed, she has accumulated millions of hits on Youtube, and has given enchanting festival and concert performances worldwide – it’s high time her divine voice is heard and felt in our paradise!
Jai-Jagdeesh began writing and recording in 2009, and, to date, she has produced some of the most heart-healing songs to come out of the Sacred Chant genre. English-language tracks like Light of Love, In Dreams, She Kissed Me, Hold Your Hand,13 Times, and With You have found a sweet place in the lives of people around the world.
This October, Jai-Jagdeesh will be headlining the Kundalini Yoga Festival and touring Australia. She’ll be accompanied by musicians on percussion and strings to complement her voice and harmonium soundbed.
See her at Byron Theatre, Wednesday 9 Oct at 7.30pm. Tickets at byroncentre.com.au
Jon Cleary
Mullumbimby Civic Hall | Saturday 12 October | 8pm
Jon Cleary is one of music’s great anomalies. The Kent-raised Englishman turned certified New Orleans music legend, after gracefully inhabiting the Crescent City and everything it has to offer over the course of 30-plus years. A Grammy award winning, global touring and studio force, who has graced stages, shared rooms with, and gained respect from everyone from Allen Toussaint to Tom Jones, Dr. John to Bonnie Raitt, Fats Domino to Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal to BB King, even Brian May to D’Angelo. Jon Cleary quite simply embodies the sound of New Orleans, and throughout the second half of 2019, he takes that experience to stages across the globe on his massive Dyna-Mite World Tour, bolstered by the presence of his longtime band, The Absolute Monster Gentlemen.
After another incredible turn at the famed New Orleans Jazz Fest last April, fans in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia will have the chance to witness Jon and his crew take to some of the most loved venues and festival stages around the planet across this remarkable 60 date journey; featuring an eight-show run at London’s famed Ronnie Scott’s, a string of European dates – with longtime friend and jazz legend John Scofield – and an expedition to Havana, to explore the roots of Cuban music, art and culture.
Jon Cleary plays the Mullumbimby Civic Hall on Saturday 12 October at 8pm. Tix at redsquaremusic.com.au
