Blue Mountains Music Festival

The first Blue Mountains Folk Festival was conceived in March 1995, with a challenge from American folk legend Tom Paxton to ‘ just do it'. Paxton was on one of his very rare Australian tours and local Blue Mountains guitarist Al Ward was travelling with him as sideman and support act. During the tour they had played the Port Fairy and Jamberoo festivals amongst others and had sung the praises of those events to the Clarendon's Bob Charter.

For some time Bob and Al Ward had had an informal arrangement for acoustic concerts which had replaced the more regular folk club run by Stuart Cowell, Nigel Foote and Dawn Egan. As part of this informal concert series, Tom Paxton was doing two nights at the Clarendon. Over a few drinks after the second show Bob, Al and Paxton were discussing the viability of a local folk festival, especially since the Blue Mountains had just been named ‘Inaugural City of the Arts'. Paxton threw down the gauntlet, and in 1996 his good friend John McCutcheon became the first international artist to play at the festival.

The event is now based around seventy or so concerts by world class acoustic practitioners, both seasoned campaigners and emerging talents. With the financial support of all levels of government and corporate sponsors Guinness, the festival has acquired an enviable international reputation for the quality of programming and production, and there is fierce competition amongst the touring fraternity of musicians for inclusion. In 2003, Festivals Australia provided funding for a nostalgic return to the big band jazz age when Katoomba was the honeymoon capital of New South Wales. In 2004 the Blue Mountains City Council entered into a cultural partnership with the festival to present a ‘Blue' Mountains of Music showcase featuring some of the best of the home grown high ground talent.

When? 16 - 17 March, 2012

Where? Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW

Who? In 2012

Tickets? Various - Box Office

Festival Website? Blue Mountains Music Festival

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