What is there to say about Wintermoon?
Could it be the lush tropical rainforest location and the deliciously relaxed surrounding areas?
Or maybe the gorgeous green eco-vibe that permeates every building, tent, stage and communal gathering area, from candles in the restrooms at night to Jenny Drake’s untamed chickens casually wandering the grounds to the organic freshly picked bananas in the Chai House every morning.
Or the talented, humble and inspiring musicians we met along the way and were so fortunate to share the stage with; people who, fuelled by cider, beer or nothing at all would happily natter about anything and everything while relaxing between gigs in the communal area behind the Lunar Stage. The entire weekend was peppered with conversations, jamming, rehearsals, and writing. Wintermoon is the first festival I have performed at where I have come away more relaxed than when I got there.
And what of the incredible people who organise this amazing festival and go out of their way to make you feel at home? So many were offered use of Jenny’s shower & use of her car to travel into Calen to buy supplies; sharing tables during meal times with beautiful people along the likes of Chris Cann, Ira from the Perch Creek Family JugBand & Campbell the gentle Swaggie; the amazing sound crew smiling through intense pressure to deliver the best sound for their tent with only ten minutes notice, while happy volunteers greeted me with a smile everywhere we met and then paid us the biggest compliment by dancing at our shows – this festival wouldn’t happen without all of you.
But mostly, to the festival attendees who allow us the opportunity to perform and share our passions with you. There are no words except thank you for your support!
Highlights for me, other than the ones described above and in no particular order were pulling Paul’s former bandmate and stunning singer Nadia Sunde up on stage to sing Dreams with us, catching every Barleyshakes gig (they ROCK), meeting Richard Kaal, the awesome guys from Swoon & Wishing Well, Bridge & I sharing songwriting tips with Enda Kenny, meeting S. Sean Tretheway and reading his wonderful book ‘The Roadless Traveller’, and relaxing in general – what a luxury!
The last Wintermoon concert featured JigZag, and in true folkie style, they pulled every available player (Bridge & I, Lindsay Martin, Erin from Barleyshakes, Richard Kaal, Sarah from Wishing Well, Campbell the Swaggie, Dave Flower, Jay Bishoff and Sally from Dev’lish Mary to name a few!) up to play some solos on a few songs. I shared a mic with Lindsay Martin, and it was brilliant! After we all performed on Stronger the Tree and One Love, the crowd decided we weren’t getting off that easy and demanded one last song for the finale. And what a song! We did crowd favourite ’30 Seconds of Happiness’, which featured scat singing, Aretha Franklin, fiddle solos and the best crowd participation I have ever witnessed.
What a remarkable ending to a wonderful weekend!
Listening to ‘Kindred’ by Swoon
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