Saturday 17th January, 2009

Wendy Mathews

Wendy Mathews

Wendy Matthews has a reputation as an artist par excellence with a sublime, expressive voice that never fails to move those who hear it.

Both acoustically and physically, Wendy Matthews moves with an enviable minimalism.  Her music is an unhurried journey of clean melodies, infectious energy and simple grace.  In an age when grunge is thought to be hip and cynicism an attribute, Wendy has proven that commitment to beauty is still not only valid but applauded by the public ear. 

Wendy has an immense talent and capacity to capture and define a diverse range of styles in her music.  She takes songs from every genre and makes them her own, from jazz to blues, from rock to gospel, from soul to outright infectious pop and then, of course, there are the beautiful ballads.

Saturday 24th January, 2009

Babba

Babba

BABBA is the most exciting and musically accurate tribute to ABBA in the world. In a spellbinding performance of all the hits,BABBA takes you on a musical journey that will have you on your feet uncontrollably.

Since 1994 BABBA have performed all over Australia , Asia and New Zealand to sold out audiences and rave reviews. Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida have returned (with the help of a cryogenic freezer and some cosmetic surgery) to transport you back to the 70s with a show full of humour, great costumes, Swedish accents and fun-filled dancefloor action.

With spine tingling harmonies and a band that will rock your socks off, BABBA is simply the best night out in town.

Black Sorrows

Saturday 7th February, 2009

Black Sorrows will be returning for their 3rd festival

Black Sorrows

So what do I love about making music?

For me, it’s always about the freedom. If I’m making music, I’m not thinking about anything else. I can actually get lost in it.

As a young kid, listening to the jukebox was my salvation. It was the only thing that would get me into another space.

Not only did I know every song on the radio, I knew every song my mother had in her record collection. My mother would sing; it made her happy. She was a big fan of Ray Charles, she loved to sing and dance to his records. My dad hated Ray Charles with his whole heart, he thought he was a shocker. So there was a bit of family conflict there.

I was born in Malta, the third of 10 children. We moved to Australia when I was two. In Port Melbourne, in the 1950s and the start of the ’60s, I first heard rock ‘n’ roll – Hit The Road, Jack, and Frankie Laine.

My father played the tuba, and my brother played the piano accordion – two things I could have done without!

As I kid, I would steal Shadows records. I was the typical Catholic kid: On one shoulder, there was the devil, going, ‘Take it!’. On the other, was an angel, going, ‘What do you think you’re doing?!’

Jane Rutter

Jane Rutter

Saturday 14th February, 2009

Jane is returning to the Weir for her 9th festival

(Will be added soon!!)

Saturday 21st February, 2009

David Helfgott

David Helfgott

David Helfgott was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1947 to Polish-Jewish parents.  After moving to Perth when he was five, David showed extraordinary pianistic talent.  In his teens, he won the state finals of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition six times, and came to the attention of Daniel Barenboim, Julius Katchen and Talas Vassary.  Isaac Stern was so impressed with David's playing at fourteen that he urged overseas study for the young prodigy.  However, it was not until five years later that David went to London to study at the Royal College of Music with Cyril Smith, who wrote of his young pupil:

Now in his twenty-fourth year back on the concert stage, David continues to tour Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia to great acclaim and is still enjoying performing as much as ever.  He has released three CD's over the past few years, the latest, being available in May.  Called Helfgott Magic, this features many of his favourite works by Rachmaninov, Liszt and Chopin.

David is developing new and appreciative audiences the world over, an artist who has transcended previously-held views of performance and interpretation to touch and inspire whole new generations of music lovers with his special gift.

Kate Ceberano

Kate Ceberano

Date to be advised

Kate Ceberano's 17th album So Much Beauty is more than just her latest album, it is also the summation of everything that has made this Australian singer exceptional in the past and makes her exceptional still.

This is where she's come to, thanks in part to where she's been. So Much Beauty might even be the best album Kate has ever made, a remarkable consideration in a career that's seen so much success and variety.

From Kate's point of view she wanted to build on what she had achieved with 2007's platinum selling tribute to 80s music Nine Lime Avenue.

Kate explains: "There's this wonderful relationship between my tour manager, Ben Balfour, and my sound engineer, Steve Scanlon (co-producers) and my musicians, so we kept this really tight confidence amongst ourselves. We set the recording studio up in Steve's home so we could feel as uninhibited and loyal to one another as you do when you're performing live, and tried not to get too tricky with the post-production."