Bushfire Benefit– Ewingar Rising
Ewingar Rising | Ewingar Hall | $30 – 140
With fires raging around the state, and homes and lives being destroyed in their wake – musicians are stepping up to do what they can. Seventeen great Aussie artists will be rocking the community of Ewingar, near Tabulum, with the Ewingar Rising Bushfire Benefit event, to be held 22–24 November 2019.
The amazing lineup of artists donating their talents and time to help the Ewingar community to recover from the recent devastating Long Gully bushfire includes: Tex Perkins and Matt Walker, Byron Bay blues legend Marshall Okell, country music favourites Col Finley and Jase Lansky, local 19-year-old folk artist Georgia Grae, and other well-known and loved performers such as Watley & Bates, Jimmy Willing & the Real Gone Hick-Ups, Two Tears in a Bucket and Haystack Mountain Hermits. Interstate up-and-coming artists August River Band and Mermaid Avenue will also be entertaining the crowds with their unique brands of rock.
‘Our community has been hurting badly after losing not only thousands of acres of land, but also 10 houses, livestock, countless sheds, machinery, fodder, tools and hundreds of km of fencing,’ said Nadine Myers, Ewingar resident and coordinator of the Ewingar Rising Bushire Benefit.
‘Two lives have been lost and many residents have lost their homes. Other residents are not coping financially and emotionally with the devastating losses,’ said Ms Myers. ‘This event will not only bring hope to our community but also provide some much-needed financial support to help residents recover, rebuild, and rise from the ashes.’
This family-friendly event has something for all ages and musical tastes, with rock, folk, bluegrass, country and rockabilly for the music lovers. In the kids’ corner will be art workshops, a jumping castle, and face painting to keep them busy, and local puppeteer Allan Highfield will bring giggle-inducing entertainment with his Highly Strung Puppets. Market stalls offering local wares, great food vans, coffee carts, and a licensed bar will also be available over the weekend.
There will be camping for ticket holders with weekend tickets. Come with sufficient cash, fuel, and supplies as there are no shops or ATMs nearby.
To ensure it is affordable for families, children aged 12 and under are free, 13–17-year-olds are $30; and adults can attend for just $140 for the entire weekend, or $100 for Saturday only.
Catch Tex Perkins, Matt Walker, Col Finley, Marshall Okell, August River Band, Mermaid Avenue, Two Tears in a Bucket, Watling & Bates, Haystack Mountain Hermits, Jase Lansky, Georgia Grae, Jimmy Willing & the Real Gone Hick-Ups, and more.
Ewingar Rising will be held 22–24 November at the Ewingar Hall, 584 Ewingar Road, Ewingar NSW. Tickets can be purchased through www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ewingar-rising-bushfire-recovery-benefit-tickets-78146222455
www.facebook.com/events/536375966936517/
Montaigne at the Northern
Hotel Great Northern | Saturday | 9pm
Ahead of her show at Falls Fest you can catch Montaigne at the Hotel Great Northern this Saturday. She talks about Ready, her most anthemic single to date. And it’s an anthem with something to say.
‘I was so reluctant to take ownership of it. So far I’ve been the self-deprecating tortured artist who’s talked about my neurosis – whereas this song is “I believe in myself” and “I’m ready to utilise my abilities”. That’s something I’ve been working hard to finesse.
‘Putting out a song about self-worth – I’m in a place where I do think that much about myself, I work really hard every day to be really good at what I do – I’ve earned that confidence.’
There’s also a Trojan Horse factor buried in the lyrics of Ready.
Sure it’s a booming pop song on the surface, with that killer motivational chorus to remind yourself to stay in the grind
(I think I’m ready and I’m at the edge of the cliff, so let’s begin…) and some seriously brilliant vocals. But in the song’s final verse Montaigne sings Take me to the final stage, gimme gimme equal wage, I am no longer afraid. The line sums up how the musician sees Ready connecting with the world.
‘This song is a resistance anthem for me. It’s an uprise anthem. It’s not about personal gain and being a hotshot superstar. It’s about people coming together and fighting for their rights. Equal rights for women, for trans and queer people to have the same rights as heterosexual people, for heteronormativity to be dispelled, for the most vulnerable people in society to be looked after. Why shouldn’t any woman be entitled to equal pay for the work they do?’
Montaigne is performing at the Hotel Great Northern on Saturday, at 9pm. Tickets at the door. This is an 18+ event.
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