Over 8,000 punters attended four days of showcases and attended four days of seminars and panels presented by close to 500 international and local speakers. Over 50 world music, folk, indigenous and roots acts came from all around Australia as well as the he Pacific, Reunion Island, Scotland, Ireland and beyond.
Organisers reported a number of full-houses at The Hi-Fi, The Toff in Town, Lounge and Ding Dong Lounge, for acts including the Melbourne Ska Orchestra and Sydney neo-soul sensation Ngaiire and the grand finale with Shaolin Afronauts and The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra. Show highlights included Dan Sultan jumping unexpectedly to join Ireland’s Damien Dempsey for his encore, Dempsey joining Richard Frankland & the Charcoal Club, the double blues bill of Stephen Pigram and Jeff Lang, and a standing ovation for Barefoot Divas for the AWME opening performance at The Arts Centre.
AWME announced a new two-year funding from Arts Victoria. Festival director Simon Raynor declared “AWME 2013 was another incredibly inspiring and successful edition – bringing delegates, musicians and music fans together from around the world and highlighting the amazing artists based in Australia and the region.
