MUSICIANS from all over Australia have inundated organisers of Utribe Festival with requests to perform, with local acts particularly keen to be part of the inaugural festival, to be held at Green Park, Conondale from September 25-27.
With a view to giving locals a go, Utribe is now working in conjunction with the newly established Music Association of the Sunshine Coast (MASC), which helps promote up and coming local artists hankering for opportunities to play live.
“The program is well and truly full, with an extra stage being added to accommodate the increasing number of local acts wanting to be part of it,” says spokesperson Lisa Mora. “We’re now taking names for next year as well.”
Billed as a festival of music, healing, arts, culture, ecological awareness and dance, Utribe Festival is one of the most exciting new additions to the hinterland’s cultural calendar.
Organisers say they planned the event for September as it’s statistically one of the driest months, but that the festival will go ahead rain, hail or shine.
Green Park is one of Australia’s premier motocross venues, with shady trees, lush forest glades and a pebbled creek. It’s an ideal spot for the festival, which will also offer camping, workshops, food and market stalls, and bar facilities. According to Lisa, it’s the location as much as the program that has captured people’s interest.
“Its not just because of the fact that we have an amazing music scene up here, it’s just a beautiful part of the world and people want to be here,” says Lisa. “That’s a large part of the appeal, coming for three days camping in the beautiful hinterland. The energy of this place is incredible and people are picking up on it.”
Utribe was dreamed up a year and a half ago, when festival director Corey Skipper from the Woodford Folk Festival team thought it was time the Maleny area had its own music festival again, with the Maleny Folk Festival having moved to Woodford in 1994.
Some said they were completely nuts to attempt such an enormous project, but Corey and a keen crew of friends held onto their dream, and now the festival has taken on a life of its own. An office has been set up in Maple Street, Maleny, and it now looks set to become an annual event.
Roots Reggae band Fyah Walk
With festivals such a ubiquitous part of Australian culture, Utribe has the potential to become huge, but organisers want it to maintain an intimate, grassroots feel. They’re capping tickets for the first Utribe at 5000, and advise people to snap up the remaining tickets now, as earlybird passes have already sold out.
The line-up of music is impressive for a first time festival, with credit due to Chelsea Winfield, who took to the artist liaison role like a fish to water, managing to get some of Australia’s most cutting edge acts to come on board. They include Ash Grunwald, Red Eyes, Fyah Walk, Dubmarine, Tijuana Cartel, Toothfaeries, Loren, Kooii, Kafka and locals such as The Express, Hayden Hack, Khan, Herrin and Canta la Tumba.
Of course, Utribe is about more than just the music. There’s also a workshop program for self-awareness and healing, with yoga, tai chi, qui gong, meditation, massage, yidaki/didgeridoo and African drumming and dancing, and a dedicated children’s festival. The local community has supported Utribe all the way, with the amount of people volunteering having exceeded expectations.
The festival is now seeking support from businesses who would like to come on board as sponsors to help ensure the future success of the festival.
For information and tickets, visit www.utribe.org or call the festival office on (07) 5435 2166.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Why is it that some blogs just appear to obtain it right, thanks for currently being so useful.