As the Cocky Flies is the new travelling part circus, part festival from the creators of Wangaratta music festival A Hitch to the Sticks featuring Emma Donovan and Dallas Frasca.
From the passionate team who for the last four years have delivered the widely celebrated regional festival A Hitch to the Sticks comes the brand-new roving concert experience, As the Cocky Flies, a regional blues and roots travelling circus and a dazzling fusion of live music and performance art, set beneath a big top circus tent.
Held over consecutive weekends in March next year and covering terrain in regional Victoria’s Mount Beauty and Moyhu (just outside Wangaratta), As the Cocky Flies features a colossal cast of talent for avid gig-goers of all ages keen to immerse themselves with entertainment in a reimagined playing field.
What you need to know
- A Hitch To The Sticks organisers introduces new event, ‘As The Cocky Flies’ – a blues & roots regional circus tour.
- The tour will be held over consecutive weekends in March and cover terrain in Mount Beauty and Moyhu, Victoria.
- The event will feature Ringmaster extraordinaire Barry Morgan, Emma Donovan & The PutBacks, Neil Murray, Dallas Frasca and more.
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Headlining the event is unparalleled Ringmaster extraordinaire Barry Morgan, ARIA-nominated soul-rhythm explosion Emma Donovan & The PutBacks, one of the nation’s greatest songwriters Neil Murray (Warumpi Band – Black Fella White, My Island Home), sovereign of Victoria’s blues & roots scene and regional arts patriot Dallas Frasca, and much more.
While the music is top-notch, there will also be a bunch of exhilarating circus troupes joining the festival, promising to astonish with nail-biting feats of power and prowess. Each event will host two limited seating, 4-hour shows at 12:30pm and 6:30pm.
According to the Hitch to the Sticks crew who are renowned for hosting a ripper lineup of homegrown while shining a spotlight on Wangaratta’s spectacular landscape and regional culture, As the Cocky Flies will deliver a sensory overload of blues and roots music and circus sideshow theatrics while sharing the magical atmosphere of performance plucked from a bygone era.
“There’s something magical about the atmosphere of a circus and live music coming to town,” festival organisers say.
“The Ringmaster’s voice booming above the buzz of the crowd, the circus performers death-defying feats, the smell of carnie food, the looming decisions of which show bag to take home, local beers and wine and of course, there’s nothing better than dancing the night away.
“Add some of Victoria’s most beloved musicians into the mix and you’ve got an utterly satisfying cross-pollination of art forms, and something brand new for families and regional communities to enjoy and celebrate.”
An artistic eruption celebrating the long-awaited return of live music and entertainment to regional audiences yearning for sorely missed live entertainment, As the Cocky Flies is committed to providing a new event experience that emboldens cultural fanatics to venture back into the live entertainment space in a way they’d have never foreseen.
Tickets to As the Cocky Flies are on sale now. Check out the lineup and dates below.
Saturday 5 March
Mount Beauty / Dhuduroa Country, VIC
w/ Ringmaster: Barry Morgan + Circus performers
Emma Donovan & The PutBacks
Dallas Frasca, Rich Davies & Low Road
+ local performers TBA
Saturday 12 March
Moyhu / Bpangerang Country, VIC
w/ Ringmaster: Barry Morgan + Circus performers
Neil Murray, Dallas Frasca,
Three Kings + local performers TBA
You can purchase tickets here.
