ILLAWARRA FOLK WEEK

16-21 November 2009

Free Concerts at Wollongong City Gallery and more

The Wollongong Art Gallery will again play host to music and verse when the Illawarra Folk Club launches its first Illawarra Folk Week with a series of free lunchtime concerts from Monday 16th to Thursday 19th November.
Illawarra Folk Week forms part of the Fringe  build-up to the 25th Illawarra Folk Festival.

The concerts will feature some of the Illawarras best folk artists and poets and will start at 12.20pm and finish at 1.30pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available for free, but patrons can bring their own lunches. Tickets for the Festival held in January will also be available at the very low earlybird prices of $75 for the four days.

THE CONCERTS at the Wollongong City Gallery 

Monday 16 November

The theme ‘Our Singing Poets’ and will feature presentations by John Broomhall, Alan Musgrove, Emma Hannah, and Claire Roberts. They will perform works of some of our best loved poets that, over the years, have been put to music. Poets like Henry Lawson, Will Ogilvy, Kenneth Slessor, Adam Lindsay Gordon, Banjo Paterson and others will all feature heavily.

Tuesday 17 November

The poets will be given full reign, with a special appearance by the ABC’s iconic Blue the Shearer. Blue will be supported, among others, by some of the regions best bush poets in Zondrae King, Thalia and Vivienne Sawyer.

Wednesday 18 November

Wednesday will see two local bands play with ‘Az-I-Am’ led by the Mount Kembla Nightingale Chris Wilson supported by the ‘Whatsername Duo' of Alan Musgrove and Bob McInnes.

Thursday 19 November

Thursday is a special- when ‘A Tribute To Mary’ will be presented. Mary of course is Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary fame who died a couple of months ago. Claire Roberts and Emma Hannah grew up on Mary Travers and Peter Paul and Mary and are combining forces to present this very special tribute.

Friday 20 November

If this is not enough the official launch of the Festival Programme will take place in the Mall on Friday 20th when Senator Ursula Stevens (Parliamentary Secretary advising the PM on volunteering and community involvement and David Camble, Minister for Transport and the Illawarra will give it the Governments Blessing.

Saturday 21 November

But wait, there is still more, It’s the biggest Celtic Night of the year for the club when it presents Iconic Irish / Scottish Band The Borderers and Irish band Coolfin Mac at the City Diggers Wollongong.