Sydney Reviews

Left – Round Mountain Girls

There is a certain rhythm one must adopt when experiencing a four day music festival: can’t rush the vibe; got to minimise in order to maximise. Mullum Music Festival, now all packed up until next year, is such a smorgasbord festival of the creative kind: you have to embrace it, cruise with it, chillax, contemplate, absorb and slide into the slip-stream of events. 

Local and laid back, this festival provides music of all genres, ilk, styles and incarnations, with workshops a plenty and something for everyone to experience, be it the Hop on Hop Off Magic Bus with music pumping out of every orifice; attending the Hip Hop workshop; sitting in a cafe listening to the local radio station broadcasting live to keep the musical weekend flowing; listening to buskers give it their best shot in hope they will be in one of the real venues next year; picking up free copies of Rhythms magazine because you're wearing your golden armband or watching a Buster Keaton film with the Blue Grassy Knoll inventing the score to this timeless silent film (silent, ha, not likely).

Mullum Music Festival not only caters for music lovers of every dimension, it’s morphed into a musicians’ festival, too. Perhaps this was always the intention? How wonderful to sit and listen to the musician of your choice (in a venue of your choice) to later witness the same ‘muso’ in the audience of the next session, listening to their inspirational musical contemporaries. Everyone joins in. A duo becomes a band before your very ears and a solo act is not solo for long, except for maybe one signature tune, then a complete brass section joins in! What a treat for the paying punter (and musician alike). 

Where else could you sit in a park outside a Civic Hall, sipping on the best coffee you’ve had in ages, accompanied by the gluten free orange cake freshly arrived with the coffee-vendor’s wife, whilst waiting to catch Tin Pan Orange? Or ordering your Thai food at regular restaurant prices (not bloated Festival rip-offs) whilst listening to Jordie Lane belt out a song with such passion that you can barely swallow your Pad Thai? 

I love the Mullum Music Festival, let’s get that clear from the go-get. It is a melting pot of music and musicians embracing country, ballad, blues and roots, jazz, world music, indie, rock, cosmic-punk-experimental (ha ha ha) and even Slovenian alternative theatre and puppetry! 

Over the four days, twelve venues, one hundred and twenty performances and all the ‘other’ happenings (The Pitts Family Circus; Spaghetti Circus; Clown Town and The Curly Cousins) we managed to bear witness to some amazing performers and performances.

Bursting onto the Courthouse stage, Kalascima transformed this hotel into a bazaar with their mediaeval carnival of sound and their total Southern Italian-ness, mesmerizing the audience with their modern take on traditional instruments. Mullum was swaying, jiggling and jumping to their tune. Move over, you young belly-dancers, I’m coming through...

Cooling down on the walk to the next venue along this street of musical excellence, we hit the ‘Bowlo’ and were equally blown away by Sal Kimber & The Rollin’Wheel. This band breathes in and out together, with the music flowing between them, in and around, heartfelt and calm with a low, sexy rumbling bass guitar. Pure rock and roll with a soulful delivery, the drummer nailing us all to the floor with her killer beat. Harmonising sisters (what a musical family) within a love-song of family and place, Sal Kimber & The Rollin’Wheel blew the house down.

Off to see The Basics at the Mullumbimby School auditorium. The Basics, tight and cohesive, melding sounds (is that Elvis, no, it’s The Beatles, hang on who’s that band their sampling now) into their own songs, or ripping into covers we all know and love. ‘60s on steroids and would you expect anything else from this line-up of three, with their gospel and angelic harmonies (Hey Rain) melting the audience with their ‘full, no room for any more notes here’ delivery.

Back to the ‘bowlo’ for The Junes (swing and jive are still alive) with their snappy repartee, wicked fiddle and ‘old school’ harmonies reminiscent of vintage Hollywood movies, these three front women belt out their originals, with rockabilly/swing, shake-your-ass rhythms you can’t get enough of. Luckily they played for three consecutive days so everyone could get a taste.

Les Karski Band (now local, lucky for us) with his lay-back-cool-blues playing some favourites (referencing Buddy, John Lee and finishing off with a tribute to Hendrix) and his own brilliance with “...born to die...” (die of blues bliss, that’s a fact) and “... no shame in that game....” No shame at all when you can slam it home like Les.

Round Mountain Girls tore up the Courthouse with their jubilance and dare to dance, with Rabbit whipping up a fiddling storm: the devil is in the detail and RMG had the audience pumped to boiling point. 

Rebecca Ireland, a festival favourite, has so much to offer both vocally and instrumentally with songs that mirror her soul: she continues to grow from strength to strength and with her new line-up Alex McLeod (guitar) and Cassie Rose (vocals) they collectively shine.

Potato Potato had the crowd hopping and bopping. This young and emerging “folk pop band from the North Coast” already have an impressive and original sound. After only a few years together, they are confident and happening!

Enter Leigh Carriage, petite and powerful, with a pitch perfect and pure voice that climbs the ladder of melody, lifting the audience with her. Effective, not affected, her original songs are pure and passionate: her band held the crowd and delivered with keys, drums and stand-up bass worthy of a New York hot spot where only the elite can witness musical perfection. After ‘wowing’ the audience with her capacity and range, the musical community (so prevalent at this festival) joins in with seven extra brassy players in a special tribute to another musical soulmate, recently departed. 

Post Mullum Music Festival reflections: how do you get to see as many performers as you can when even four days and 12 venues isn’t enough to get around to everyone? Like the smorgasbord this festival is, you can’t digest everything at one sitting: pace yourself, go with the flow, feel the vibe and absorb. Relax and catch the ones you missed hopefully next year: it’s as easy as that...


Mullum Music Festival 2013

Location: Mullumbimby Northern New South Wales
Dates: 21 – 24 November, 2013
Visit: www.mullummusicfestival.com