In a meet and greet with locals, Julian Louis, Artistic Director of Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) reveals plans for their latest work, Dreamland at the Bangalow A&I Hall.

As we drive from the Byron Hinterland to Mullumbimby on Thursday evening, my muso-partner and I have that feeling of anticipation and expectation. We are trekking out for this, the eleventh Mullum Music Festival.

How many of life’s hiccups are triggered by a series of events, out of our control, on their own trajectory to wherever they may land? One only has to watch the news – politics and mayhem – to see what can (and does) occur without any rhyme or reason.

The physicality, and inventiveness, of this wondrous epic has so many whip-cracking moments (literally) and is so totally engaging, I could watch this performance over and over again and still miss many of the nuances.

Storytelling through conversation, through music, through a play, written and created for awesome women, brought to life with sound and lighting and minimal props – now that is entertainment on a whole other level.

Writers and authors bring our ideas, unformulated, to the fore with their insight, intuition, ambition and determination. Through their experiences, observations and sheer talent, we can share their vision through their written words and visual delivery.

Winter in Bellingen: what better way to celebrate the season than with hot music and warm encounters of every kind.

Countdown to the 22nd Byron Writers Festival (‘Where Stories Take You’) and once again the Festival brochure is out, whetting our appetite for all things creative, in a writerly fashion!

Comedians walk the tight-rope more than most performers: this is an exercise in communication and observation; relegation and distribution; delivery and response. So many contingencies to take into account – demographics, geography, socio-economic groupings and ‘what’s happening now’.

Music has the capacity to bring everyone together under the same flag; the same nation of appreciation: yes – we are all linked when the first strum of the guitar, banjo, ukelele, bass, fiddle (get the drift?) reaches our ears.