DAY ONE
Ok, so in the rush we didn't pack a few things... doesn't matter, it's all here, fantastic!
Lets see what we can see.

How many stages was that again? Six! OK two of us.. hmmmmmm. Note to self; another reporter and camera operator next year.

The program was a tad askew but there were no shortage of helpful volunteers to assist any enquiries we had, excellent. It did however throw the planning for the reviews out but sponteaity is good right? Lets enjoy this and just wing it!

The Friday night saw us endeavouring to cover the six stages and a multitude of music.
We wouldn't need to cover disco, stick to live music. Vics was out. Five stages, better. The Bellbird stage would prove to be the most frequented, with a fantastic sound and light show, (congrats must go to Evi Audio Australia for such an awesome job) it was the main stage of the festival. With the artists we had a chance to see on the Bellbird stage today and tonight (Orient Expresso, Stiff Gins, Azadoota and Lior) The Stiff Gins were the top of the heap.

The Duo of Kaleena Briggs and Nardi Simpson were angelic in voice, impish in humour and muse like in lyric. Peace, hope and inspiration shone in not so much a cheesy way but in a 'the way it is' way.
There was no leaving this stage while these two incredibly talented ladies were performing.
Two of the exceptional songs from the set were, 'ONE OF THE MILLIONS' and 'THE RIVER SONG'. The CD's were unavailable at the merch tent (presumably sold out) and we are still hunting.

Lior was a huge drawcard and it was easy enough to discover why. This humble man captivated his audience with serenity, humility and talent. little wonder he carries three ARIA award nominations and is on track for the Triple J Album of the year as well.

Orient Expresso captured an amount of interest not only from the Gypsy style music but from the most unusual playing stlye of the double bass player, virtuoso, John Maddox. (pictured bottom left)

Azadoota were written up as a Latin/Syrian mix but were possibly best described as multi-cross-cultural. An interesting and lively group of entertainers.
Azadoota were lively, fresh and extremely entertaining. Some translations possibly would have assisted but amazingly you could sense the emotion of the songs not sung in english anyway.


The Lyrebird stage was in take down, set up mode whenever we were able to get some time to visit there, but we were able to catch the last couple of songs from Daktari.
The songs we caught were A LONG WAY TO HEAVEN and SWAZI LAND. An interesting mix of sampling, pre recorded backing and live instruments.

The Chai tent had a massive list of artists and was constantly full of very laid back folk who were enjoying some great music but as for who we saw we could not say as they oft ran overtime and the program (as stated) was not quite on the money.

The Brass Monkey stage was usually fairly busy on our passes but seemed a lot busier when The Leanne Paris band was fired up on stage. Now, the Rhodes caught my attention first but the vocals this lady has are up there with some of the best female blues talents I have heard in a while. The soulful lyrics and the jazz influenced tracks are a drawcard to this exceptional womans original writings no matter your preferred tastes in music.

The Brackets and Jam tent was a drawcard for me as there were so many locals I did want to see and support. Thinking I was catching Shane Romeyn Band I saw a group of seven artists, interestingly called Rubix Cuba. The music was quite lively and entertaining, great festival or outdoor family oriented talent here. One of the vocals could have had just a tad more polish but collectively this is a band that would be entertaining in almost any situation. The only drawback would be a fair payment worthy of so many entertainers on the one stage. Rubix Cuba hail from Newcastle and with a trio of brass, add that little bit of something different to your 'local band' scenario.

Not too sure how much more walking from stage to stage we could take
I was happy to rest up, back again at the Brackets and Jam tent.
One of the Coasts most hardworking bands, Ask Bob were on stage.
The great harp of Chris melodically geling to the lyrics and vocals of Bob Symonds are always a treat. An unfamiliar bass player was on the stage and as yet I have not had the chance to catch up with Chris to get the low down on the events of the band of late.

With such a wide variety of fine food from around the world available and some great beverages to accompany the meal, a happy and content What's On pair could casually wander back to the tent under a blanket of stars and the sounds of nature for a good nights rest on the eve of what promises to be another wonderfully lengthy, musical day in paradise..