Somewhere Where I'm Not: 12/10/12

Today I was off to the Nanga Folk Festival which is held at a location not far from Dwellingup, about and hour's drive south of Fremantle.

It was nice to get back into the forests again

Now I've been to quite a few Festivals this year and I can say that quite possibly, this one was the best yet.
The location, organisation, friendliness and music was all top class.
Numbers are deliberately kept at a manageable level which made for intimate, listening audiences and there was no aggro or jostling for viewing positions that you get at some festivals.
I'm so glad I found out about this festival and if it wasn't so far away, I would go every year - it was wonderful.
There was only one stage so there was no need to choose between who to see and no need to constantly refer to the program to ensure you see everyone on the bill.
The only clashes were with workshops which, by the way, were also excellent - I went to a blues guitar workshop with Scott Wise (who is the father of Lucy whom I met at the Wintermoon Festival and on The Ghan - small world, huh?) and a song writing workshop with Nick and Liesel.
Apart from the main concerts, another part of the festival is the fostering of young talent in the form of scholarships and mentorships with each recipient being paired with a main performer for the weekend and performing with them at the finale concert on the Sunday. Great idea.
I could go on and on about the festival but I will try and keep it fairly brief.
In terms of performances, some of my favourites were Nick and Liesel, Doris and Fred Smith.
Fred Smith was the surprise packet for me. I saw him at Port Fairy and thought he was quite a strange and intense character but on the Saturday night he came out with a set of clever and very funny songs with excellent crowd involvement.
Nick and Liesel have come a long way since I last saw them at the Wagga Jazz Festival years ago. And let me say, if you like Angus and Julia Stone but prefer to hear a man that sings like a man and a woman that doesn't sound like she's six years old, then definitely check these guys out.
And I wasn't expecting much from Doris who are a female duo but their songs and performance was at times quite emotional and other times roll on the floor laughing (rofl) funny.
Ok, so that's about all I'll say. I'll post a few pics and hope they paint a thousand words.

Liesel from "Nick and Liesel" fame

Hoe Down!

I saw my first wild echidna and got an understanding of the excitement that overseas tourists experience when they see a kangaroo...it was really quite cool