Roving entertainer Niq Reefman.

American piper Elias Alexander.

Charlie Needs Braces, sisters Charlie and Miri Woods.

Suga Cane Mamas.

Ruth Moody, Photo: Bill McMenamey

Diversity may be a dirty word in some parts of the world, but not here and certainly not at the National Folk Festival, coming to Exhibition Park in Canberra over Easter.

With its companion, quirkiness, diversity will be front and centre in this year’s gathering at EPIC if artistic directors Chris Stone, Michael Sollis, and Holly Downes have anything to do with it.

“It’s traditional but innovation takes place,” president of the National Folk Festival, David Gilks says. 

Following the top national cultural policy principle, they’ve programmed in a fun “First Nations First” line-up of artists, including Stiff Gins, poet Sassi Spirit, local writing group Us Mob, Wiradjuri Echoes, Ngunnawal custodian Richie Allan and self-described Blak women’s trio, Suga Cane Mamas.

A standout is the lively First Nations duo from Melbourne, Charlie Needs Braces, sisters Charlie and Miri Woods. Both claim descendance from Broken Bay explorer-entertainer Bungaree and his wife Matora.

Charlie herself, who also plays a mean trumpet, has played on stage with bands such as The Teskey Brothers, Casey Donovan and The Seven Ups. In 2023 she received the Archie Roach Foundation Award for Emerging Talent through Music Victoria.

Their wild style involves close harmony, dance, their own percussion and original songs, including numbers such as Saltwater People, GuriNgai Girl and Fantastically Crooked. They will open at the Budawang on April 18 and will also perform on April 19- 20. 

When I catch up with co-artistic director Michael Sollis, I find that he and his colleagues have been most concerned to get Canberrans identifying with the event and that Downes has been working hard on the website to make that easier.

“We have two big audiences,” he tells me, “people from the folk community bringing their traditions to the event, but also Canberra audiences who want something new or just come to buy a fleecy jumper.”

Since covid, he fears, people’s habits have changed, so they’ll go for big events such as Taylor Swift. As well, during covid people got used to streaming and combined with the cost-of-living crisis, that dealt a blow to many live festivals.

“But the great thing about our event is that folk belongs to none of us as individuals. It belongs to all of us,” he says. And while there have been some reports about numbers dropping, that’s simply not true.

This is primarily a ticketed event, although they have also had some funding from the ACT government, so the three directors have been asking how they can save money but not detract from the festival.

There’s no annual theme, no strong emphasis on Celtic music and no state focus, but they do have a thread that people can follow, Sollis says. 

One highlight will be the lifetime achievement award, which will go to Spookmeister Stephen Taberner, of The Spooky Men Chorale. There will also be a young artist award supported by former festival director, Pam Merrigan.

Nor are international artists their main focus, but there will be the Chilean singer-composer Nano Stern, pipe-playing Elias Alexander from the US, who will host Trad Rave, Australian-born member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys, Ruth Moody, and Scottish fiddle and harp duo Chris Stout and Catriona McKay. 

Melbourne’s Vanessa Estrada, whose own act blends traditional elements from Chilean and Andean folk traditions, has curated a Latin Fiesta that will feature the Queen of Hearts Mariachi Band, samba and more.

Restrung is a project dear to co-director and fiddler Chris Stone’s heart. In it, music by performing artists, even as unlike as Tibetan artist Tenzin Choegyal, is rearranged by Mickey O’Donnell and Michelle Doyle for performance with a string orchestra and a harp. Visitors can join in.

One of the quirkiest sessions every year is the Infinity Song Contest, where artists put a folk slant on music from other genres. Last year it was Tina Turner and this year it’s going to be the Rolling Stones. 

There are interactive threads throughout the festival, Sollis says. Hands-on experiences for all include the National Contra Band, Festival Flutes, Festival Ukuleles, Festival Mariachi Band, Festival Choir, Festival Pipes and Festival Drumming with Mama Buluku and Mady Keita. 

There’ll also be The Bridgerton Ball, where people can dress up and dance to and the Session Bars, which he sees as the heart of the festival.

“I’ve been going to the Folk Festival since I was a kid,” Sollis says, “it’s the richest and most important creative cultural event in Canberra, it’s intergenerational and it happens in a good place.”

The National Folk Festival, Exhibition Park in Canberra, April 17-21. All details at folkfestival.org.au