“The Darebin Music Feast aims to encourage, support and promote innovation, debate and risk-taking and the artists involved in this year’s festival are doing just that. These artists continue to inspire and challenge us,” says Darebin Mayor, Cr Dianna Asmar.
When pressed about this idea of “risk-taking”, Craig Rogers – Artistic Director of the Darebin Music Feast – elucidates the importance of embracing artistic progression and providing a platform for it to thrive. “It is essential for all the arts to break rules and take risks because this is the role of the arts, to challenge what is expected. Music plays an important part in this. The Darebin Music Feast prides itself on being innovative and the only way we can achieve this is to provide a challenging program and make sure all of our artists feel comfortable taking risks,” he enlightens.
The Darebin Music Feast is devoured by the community in over 20 venues across Northcote, Preston, Thornbury, Reservoir and Fairfield in 16 days of musical performances – flavoured with genres such as jazz, hip hop, folk and of course, rock ‘n’ roll. In total there are over 1500 performers and roughly 160 events, including one of the highlights of the festival: the street party known as High Noon.
“Well, Northcote loves a street festival. Also, we’re a bit off the beaten track and it’s a great way to remind people that we’re here and switch new people onto our strip,” says Ben Mastwyk, the High Noon Festival Director. The street party, held on Sunday September 18 from 10am until 6pm, is the perfect conclusion to the Feast as it encapsulates the heart of the Feast and showcases the thriving Northcote scene.
“This is really about showcasing our eclectic and slightly eccentric suburb. Northcote is famous for its magnificent music venues so each of these is curating an outdoor stage as well as programming inside. It’s also full of artists and creatives so there’s heaps of random arty stuff and workshops going on. We’re big on food too so you’ll find plenty of special festival munchies. It’s kind of like inflating everything we have to offer and letting it float out onto the street so that it can be enjoyed by many. We want to ignite (or reignite) people’s romance with High Street Northcote. Come sundown we want people to leave with a sweet smile and a new favourite local,” Mastwyk continues.
The Darebin Music Feast is of course largely focused on music, and there are plenty of talented acts performing this year. Some of the highlights include the FReeZa intimate all ages show featuring Eagle And The Worm and Skipping Girl Vinegar, the Decibels Records Artists Showcase as well as Sheilas Of The ‘70s with Kerri Simpson, Monique Brumby and Rebecca Barnard.
“The concept Sheila’s Of The ‘70s was thought up by Kerri Simpson and Rebecca Barnard. I spoke to Kerri about doing a show as part of the Darebin Music Feast and they got me in on it. We are performing well-known songs by iconic female artists of the ‘70s. There were some awesome songs written and released by female artists in the ‘70s and that is definitely worth revisiting and presenting in a fun, musically diverse and emotive show. We looked for tunes with great lyrics and memorable melodies initially and then looked for a variety of styles to make the show flow and interesting. It was important also that we had our personal favourite artists represented so Patti Smith, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King and Blondie are all in the mix. We have known one another for a long time on the Melbourne music scene and so the idea of doing a show together was appealing as we have great time together. We wanted to do something special for the Darebin Music Feast rather than a show of our original material,” says Monique Brumby.
Craig Rogers, whose role as artistic director involves bringing live music venues, bars, cafes, artists, bands and community groups together into one program, emphasises the importance of the festival to the community and explains the delight of feeling the community’s appreciation of the Feast.
“Community music has the ability to touch everybody. It stimulates the mind and body and I am firm believer that everybody can participate in music. The Darebin Music Feast is truly a unique event and it’s exciting to be a part of it. The response to this year’s Music Feast has been overwhelming. We have had more requests for programs than ever before and throughout Melbourne’s bars, restaurants and cafes, programs are disappearing at a fast rate. It appears as though everyone is enjoying the diversity of music and getting out and enjoying some great live music.”
