Maldon Folk Festival – what you should expect at the 44th legendary folk experience
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Maldon Folk Festival – what you should expect at the 44th legendary folk experience

The Maldon Folk Festival has been going for more than four decades, and it still offers festival goers a legendary folk experience across 12 venues over four days. With an abundance of music, dance and theatre, there’s no reason not to see what it’s all about, especially for their 44th edition. We’ve just done a bit of a summary of what you can expect.

Getting there

There are a few options to take on your travels to Maldon. Located in the centre of regional Victoria – between Castlemaine and Bendigo – Maldon is basically a two hour drive from any direction, for those keen on the idea of a road trip. And it’s quite the scenic country route, so grab some friends and make a day of it. V/Line is another option, with train stations in both Castlemaine and Bendigo (as well as a bus service which runs through V/Line from various town centres).

Where to Stay

Luckily there are a number of accommodation options in Maldon, ranging from boutique hotels, historic cottages, B&B’s and stylish motels. Camping and caravan spots are a simple and laid-back option for festival goers, and are available at the Mt Tarrangower Reserve (free of charge), Maldon Football Oval and the Maldon Caravan park – which is walking distance to the venue. The Festival also supplies mobile toilets and showers as usual, including for people with disabilities. There will be a shuttle from Mt Tarrangower into the venues in town, so that’s a bonus for all you festival-goers.

The Music

At the Maldon Folk Festival you can enjoy four days of folk music and dance, as well as interactive workshops, complemented by various activities around the Maldon township, with 50 artists (yes 50!) showcasing their talent over the weekend. There will be a festival choir and roaming street performers. Concerts will be performed by the likes of Eric Bogle, The New Macedon Rangers (USA), Rob Barratt (UK), Claymore, The Dingo’s Breakfast Oz Music & Poetry Band, Louey Hesterman’s Whimsy, Penny Larkins and Carl Pannuzzo, The Good Girl Song Project, Rich Davies & The Low Road and Richard Perso, just to name a few.

Here’s two performers on the line-up:

Damien Leith – an Irish-Australian singer–songwriter. In just over 10 years, Damien has enjoyed platinum-selling albums and has been nominated for multiple awards including ARIAs, MTV Australia Video Music Awards and Helpmann Awards. His ARIA wins include Number 1 Chart Awards for the Albums Where We Land and The Winner’s Journey, Highest Selling Album (The Winner’s Journey), and Highest Selling Single and Number 1 Chart Award for the track, Night of My Life. His music has been chosen to appear in commercials and television shows, with his song, Beautiful, accompanying a global Estee Lauder campaign and Not Just For The Weekend, being the theme song for the television series, Saving Kids – a show that Damien also hosted. Damien will be performing Saturday and Sunday only.

Mile Twelve (USA) – a fresh, hard driving young band beautifully walking the line between original and traditional bluegrass. Fast gaining recognition for their outstanding performances in bluegrass and folk circles, Evan Murphy, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Nate Sabat, BB Bowness and David Benedict write captivating songs and daring instrumental pieces from diverse influences.

The first round of early bird tickets are on sale now and end August 31 – price increases for next round, so get in quick!

When & Where: Maldon Folk Festival, Maldon – November 3 – 6. Visit the website for more info.