Festival Report for 2010 FestivalShane Howard has an uncanny ability to pick the right song. The opening number of his set in the Guinness tent on Saturday afternoon had the chorus: "The air is a humming It was also pretty muddy under foot, as small rivers ran down the mountain, turning the Wine tent into a paddling pool, while waterfalls cascaded from tent roofs, often onto unsuspecting punters, whose attention was firmly on the music on offer! For those who set up camp on Friday, the rain was just one of those things; Nobody complained, and stories of wet sleeping bags, damp clothes and lost thongs were told with a smile. No doubt the weather affected attendance, particularly on Sunday, when the main concert was forced inside, and day trippers stayed away. But given the wealth of smaller venues, like the churches and The Penny School, many found ready shelter. Those that braved the weather were treated to a wide range of music, from Bluegrass to banjo, Celtic to cello, and Middle Eastern to Morris dancers! While individuals obviously have their own favourites, it appeared from CD sales and anecdotal asides, that The Woohoo Revue, Jan Preston (who lost the f sharp on her keyboard, but carried on without missing a beat!), Matsumoto Montz, and the ever popular Tiffany Eckhardt and Dave Steel were up there, along with the hugely talented Shane Howard, and the Celtic rock of Claymore. A Maldon first, The Bollywood disco provided some exhausting but entertaining dancing, although one very worn out dancer likened it to Indian callisthenics! It was more physically relaxing, but still breath-taking, to watch Hannacrobatics perform her circus acts between performances in the Guinness tent; at one stage she had thirty hula hoops on the go! So all left town happy. Once again there were many visitors from interstate, and performers from far and wide. The Festival would like to thank the local businesses that gave support, through advertising in our programme, and the community groups who put their hands up each year to assist with the running of what continues to be a diverse and vibrant festival that attracts a relaxed, friendly crowd to the township.
Festival Feedback‘Thanks for having us at Maldon again and congratulations on another great festival - it was great to be back. We really had a great festival.’ ‘On behalf of 'The Bostocks' we just wanted to thank you and the commitee for a great festival! We had an awesome time! All the crew and staff were very professional and it was a pleasure being part of it.’ ‘The Maldon festival is a great place to build relationships with people who like the music you play. I think that's one of the really special things about festivals like Maldon, the fact that musicians are there for the duration and audiences and players get to mix more than at a usual gig. A really lovely atmosphere with like minded souls which doesn't happen at all festivals I've played at, so that's a very positive thing I reckon and you must be fostering that somehow with the way you run things. All in all a job well done and hats off to you and your team.’ ‘Thanks again for inviting us to Maldon — we enjoyed ourselves immensely. You have a great little festival. Congratulations. I will certainly be spreading the word in my dual role as muso/journo (The Australian and Rhythms Magazine). I'm glad we were able to show our appreciation by stepping into the breach on Saturday night. The techs in the Guinness Tent went out of their way to give us good sound, and the crowd responded accordingly (we got some wonderful feedback backstage after the gig, and even sold a few CDs). We also enjoyed our Sunday arvo spot in the amphitheatre — great setting. Thank you for not charging commission on CD sales — it makes a refreshing change. We were also impressed with the affordability and quality of the food on offer at you festival— not to mention the Kilkenny, Guinness and fine wines, all of which were quaffed in some quantity by our band (well, we had to do our bit, didn't we?). Congratulations to all once again on another great festival. Lots of good things, and great atmosphere as ever. Thanks so much for programming me at the wonderful Penny School, I had great gigs, especially Monday morning, which was a ripper. ‘I just wanted to tell you what a fantastic time I had at the festival. Maldon is absolutely beautiful, the town and Tarrangower, probably too beautiful, as it was too easy to just sit in the campsite and not utilise all the music. Still managed to catch heaps of bands though. The reaction to The Go Set was fantastic and it was very noticeable how many people who saw them on the Friday then came to the gigs on the Saturday and, again, the Sunday. Also, around the camp and in town following gigs I would walk past people and hear "The Go Set" not managing to eavesdrop too much of the conversation, but constantly heard their name mentioned in conversation. When I saw the venue on Sunday, I actually thought maybe it had been misprogrammed as nearly everyone there was sitting down, just having finished tea. A seated Go Set audience isn't typical. Well, a couple of songs in most of the crowd were up and dancing. Thanks for a fantastically run festival, facilities were great; cleaners were fantastic in toilets and showers; and I can, with no hesitation, say it was the best festival I have ever attended. I hope you had a chance to enjoy it and it ran as smoothly for you as it appeared to us. Thanks heaps for the opportunity.’ ‘We had a great time! The performances went as I hoped. I roped in many more players to augment the group although we had 21 Newport regulars anyway. It enabled me to give many more people a chance to perform and I have to say the sound was amazing. The format of the concerts could not have been better and the venues were perfect. The rotunda is a great acoustic venue for our type of ensemble and the Woodfull Pavilion accommodated The Gay Charmers and us perfectly. Your support has helped me and the Newport Folk and Fiddle Club make the Bush Orchestra run successfully. We need to make them feel like performers and give them an external reason to play and this Festival was just perfect.... so thanks!’ ‘Thanks for a great festival – it had such a good atmosphere with so much music in the streets this year. And thanks heaps for programming us to play in the Penny School – what a gorgeous venue that is! It was such a pleasure to be in there – for both listening and performing.’ ‘Thanks for a great festival! In particular, thanks for organising the uke venue for us - the Library Hall was great and it was full too! Our accommodation was just sensational. Always mean to tell you too that the blurbs on Mike in the Maldon FF programs are always about the best Mike gets anywhere! Not sure if you write them or not – but they are excellent!! Well done !!’ |
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