27th Illawarra Folk Festival

Artists Application & Remuneration Guidelines

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TO PERFORM
General applications closed 30 June 2011

NOTE: Applications extended to 30 July 2011 for Youth, Dance Stage and Music Train Artists

The link to the online application is at the end of this page.

Please read through this page before submitting an EOI.

The following information may help you decide whether you should apply to perform at the 27th Illawarra Folk Festival at Bulli to be held from 12-15 January 2012.

We are getting ever increasing artist applications to perform at our Festival so we are looking to minimise the effort for artists to apply and for us to assess applications.

Please read through the information and instructions below before submitting an EOI.

Please ensure you take less than 60 minutes to fill it in or you may lose all your data!

If you need help with the on-line application contact Graeme Morrison 0412 358 333

thanks

David De Santi / Russell Hannah / Graeme Morrison
2012 Illawarra Folk Festival Booking Committee
bookings@illawarrafolkclub.org.au

General festival enquiries with Robyn Jackson, admin@illawarrafolkclub.org.au tel/fax: 1300 887 034
Illawarra Folk Club, PO Box 5289, Wollongong, NSW, 2500, Australia

For Illawarra Folk Club concerts, generally held 1st Friday and 3rd Saturday of each month
contact Russell Hannah, tel: 02 4297 1777, email: info@illawarrafolkclub.org.au

About the Festival

The 27th Illawarra Folk Festival will be held from the 12th to 17th January 2012 at the Bulli Showground.

The Festival will also be holding its 9th Folk Summer Music School over the 11th and 12th of January a short distance from the main festival site. Students and tutors are welcome.

The Festival will also again present the Green Music Train from Sydney on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of January. Artists interest to perform are welcome.

The festival begins on Wednesday evening with a bush dance, an Opening Charity Concert and the Tripe Folk Concert on Thursday. Up to 12 venues will then operate from Friday morning to Sunday evening.

We are looking for folk music artists who will be part of the event and be involved not only in concerts but also sessions, singalongs, workshops, theme concerts, dances, parades and childrens events where possible. The Illawarra Folk Festival is an event which exubes friendliness, participation and having a good time with new and old friends.

Many of the performers camp on site. Some limited accommodation may be provided with billets.

Please note that this is a traditional style folk festival with a wide aged audience and that many venues are close to each other so the Sound Systems provided are not large and powerful but are for clarity and reinforcement. Please consider this before applying if you are a loud band!

All fees quoted are to be totally inclusive of all costs such as GST, travel, visas, meals.

Sound Samples

If you do not have a website with sound samples (eg Myspace) then please send a CD to:

Graeme Morrison, PO Box 101, Albion Park, NSW, 2527

Festival Summer School, 11 /12 January 2012

The festival is also looking for tutors for the 2012 Festival Summer School to be held on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 January. Selected tutors are provided $60 for each session they present. You can indicate your interest in the application form. More information on the School.

Music Train, 14/15 January 2012

The festival is looking for artists to be part of the Music Trains from Sydney Central. There will 8 carriages on 3 selected train services. A selected number of Festival artists will join the Trains at Waterfall to entertain the train travellers for around 50 minutes. To show your interest please indicate in the final message section of the application. More information click here. More information on the Music Train.

The festival provides Season Passes for the artists and their partners only for these acts.

Please fill in the Artist Application form and provide in the comments section desire to be on the Music Train.

International Performers

There are only a limited number of international performers we accept who generally are visiting Australia. We DO NOT PROVIDE AIRFARES but minimal expenses. International artists are also to arrange their own visas.

Selection Criteria

We select performers mainly by the following criteria:

a) Type of material performed - Folk style performers are preferred, with minor inclusion of other musical elements. We generally don't book performers who solely perform Blues, Jazz, Acoustic Pop or Country as we find there are more than enough 'folk style' performers around to fill our spots.

b) Type of performances - Performers with workshops and theme presentations are always more favoured rather than just concert performers. Also performers who can play for seniors, children and dancers are also sought, although not essential. Performers who can stay the whole Festival and participate in sessions and the general festival atmosphere are also highly considered.

c) Price of course - Low to modest fees are provided dependent on the number of performers, performances proposed and where they are coming from. Very limited accommodation is available however there is plenty of camping space on the Festival site. You need to indicate in the notes section if the fee proposed is negotiable as well. We have provided some guidance as to what you might quote below. You are still welcome to provide the fee you like.

d) International Performers - We provide modest fees only and DO NOT PROVIDE AIRFARES or ARRANGE VISAS. Large groups should seek their own funding from their countries or other sources.

e) Partners - We welcome performers partners and children - providing their details are supplied in the application in advance. We do not provide any additional tickets for other guests.

f) Street performers, buskers, artists - are more than welcome to apply to perform but please be aware that the focus of the festival and the limited funds are provided towards the musical aspect.

g) Volunteering - We will welcome and look favourably upon artists who will also contribute by helping make the festival happen! We always need MCs, Venue Manager, Instrument Lockup staff and many other tasks. So please also consider strongly about volunteering.

h) Support for the Folk Music Scene in Australia – We also like to support artists that support their local and national folk music scene. There are some questions in the application that reflect this such as are you a member of the Illawarra Folk Club, another folk club / organisation; have you attended / performed at other folk music events; are a member of Folk Alliance Australia or a subscriber to Trad&Now.

Please note that the Festival is run by volunteers including a number of musicians and dancers and survives solely on ticket sales and sponsorship and through their goodwill. Performers who offer to help as well are also looked upon favourably.

All performance fees submitted are to include GST if applicable and all other costs including travel costs to get to and from the Festival site.

Fee Request Advice

The following will give artists some advice as to what is generally provided for remuneration for the whole festival, not per performance.

The global financial crunch has hit us as well. It is very likely that our corporate sponsors will not be supporting us for this festval so potentially this will mean a 20% reduction in our income. Please be conscious of this when asking for fees. We have noticed quotes from various perfomers increasing by 20% and more! This obviously makes it more difficult for selection.

You are of course welcome to ask for what you want but this gives you an idea of what we are expecting and is acceptable within our budget.

We provide free camping sites and in some instances may provide accommodation based upon circumstances. For this fee we expect the performers are available for the whole of the festival in general and where possible.

BASE LOCAL FEES for WHOLE FESTIVAL
Single performer - $100
Duo - $150
Band (more than 2!) - $200 to $500 dependant on the number of members
Dance groups, choirs - up to $150 or Day/Season Tickets dependant on number of performances. A Day Pass is provided if performances are on one day only.

BASE SYDNEY FEES for WHOLE FESTIVAL
Single performer - $150
Duo - $200
Band - $400 to $800 dependant on the number of members
Dance group, choirs - up to $250 or Season Tickets. A Day Pass only is provided if performances are on one day only.

OTHER AUSTRALIAN AREAS FEES
Performers who are not local or Sydney based might like to consider the base fees for local performers and then add the travelling costs to arrive at a figure.

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS
Fees are negotiable but in general the offered fee can range anywhere between $100 and $1000 and more dependant on the number of performers, suitability and appeal to the festival. Have a look at the local and Sydney base fees as well. Airfares are not provided by the festival. Performers are responsible for arranging their own visas, transport to and from the festival.

YOUTH ARTISTS
A Day Pass will be provided to Youth Artists who perform in the Youth Showcase Concerts. A Day Pass will be also provided for one parent.

Artists Responsibilities

Performers accept responsibility for their own Public Liability Insurance. When performing, you are a Festival service provider and as such, are not covered by the Festival's public liability insurance.

We suggest investigating insurance options with Folk Alliance Australia, see www.folkalliance.org.au and follow the links to 'insurance'. You need to be or become a member of Folk Alliance Australia.

Performers also accept all responsibility for their Tax Obligations, Superannuation and WorkCover requirements.

Artists to provide their own equipment such as guitar amps and drum kits. The festival does not provide Backline equipment.

Artists are responsible for their meals and drinks. Water will be provided at stages.

Sound Systems and Band Volumes

Please note that this is a traditional style folk festival with a wide aged audience and that many venues are close to each other so the Sounds Systems provided are not large and powerful but more for clarity and reinforcement.

Please be conscious that the Artistic Director may intervene if stage volumes are high and are providing an annoyance to the audience and other nearby venues.

Please consider the above information before applying if you are a loud band!

Expression of Interest Form

Click here to go to the online EOI

PLEASE TAKE LESS THAN 60 minutes TO DO THE APPLICATION OTHERWISE DATA CAN BE LOST.

If you need help contact Graeme Morrison 0412 358 333

Join Email List

If you would like to keep up to date on folk happenings in the Illawarra area and the Illawarra Folk Festival why not join the Folk Club Email List?

Please provide addresses to David: info@illawarrafolkclub.org.au

We also encourage membership of our Illawarra Folk Club, Folk Alliance Australia, Folk Federation of NSW, Australia’s Folk Music Magazine Trad&Now and the Illawarra Folk Club.

regards

David De Santi, Russell Hannah, Graeme Morrison
2012 Illawarra Folk Festival Booking Committee