South West Music Archive: Mortlake Buskers Festival -- newspaper articles

The streets were alive with the sound of music -- Warrnambool Standard February 8th 1993 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1993. All rights reserved
The sounds of music filled the air in mortlake on Saturday afternoon for the first annual Mortlake Buskers Festival. Hundreds of people lined Dunlop Street, Mortlake, to take advantage of the art, crafts and entertainment at the festival. Most were probably expecting plenty of acoustic guitars, bare feet and simplistic folk songs. But somehow the character of the busker seems to have changed. the Mortlake festival boasted stages featuring bands with electric guitars and rock and roll music. And instead of renditions of "American Pie", "Knockin' on heaven's door" or "Maggie" sounding out in unison, this festival included a few Guns and Roses numbers being [sic] during the afternoon.
Anyhow, the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Food, craft and art of all sorts was on display for sale at the festival. And there was something for everyone. The hotels provided drinks and food for the adults and the youngsters loved the horse rides, face painting and sheep shearing. But it was the music that stole the show. One of the more mature musicians, Frank Callahan, in particular seemed to be loving every minute of it. As did his audience. After singing a moving rendition of "Maggie", he went on to sing an Elvis song "for the younger generation". "Elvis who?" one youngster was heard to ask.
Buskers of course aren't restricted to music. There was also a mime artist and poet in attendance. One magician had a large crowd of children flabbergasted at how he did his tricks. One mind boggler, however, nearly "backfired" on the trickster. The magician promised one youngster an electric shock if put one of his fingers in between two matches stuck in a matchbox. When the unbelieving child did as he was requested the magician let of [sic] a loud noise, similar to that of a cap gun. "Gave you a shock didn't it. And you, and you, and you", he said pointing to the children in the crowd.

Color and spectacle at busker's festival -- Warrnambool Standard 3rd Feb. 1997 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1997. All rights reserved
There was plenty of color and spectacle at the Mortlake Buskers' Festival on Saturday, with a wide and eclectic variety of musical and non-musical acts. Buskers, acrobats and comedians lined Mortlake's central streets, creating a cacophony of noise. Instruments ranged from the trusty acoustic guitar and harmonica to a home-made didgeridoo, bagpipes, Celtic drums, violins, synthesisers and backing tapes.Apart from the music, festival goers were kept on their toes with Roulette planes flying overhead, dogs leaping seemingly impossible heights in the dog jump, displays-o-f old and new cars and motorbikes, and plenty of market stalls.

Mortlake set for big song and dance-- Warrnambool Standard 6th Feb 1999 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1999. All rights reserved
MARKET Square at Mortlake is alive once more. Children dance in front of a stage while mums, dads and grandparents relax on fold-up chairs or recline on the grass, tapping their toes to the familiar country strains of Hilton and Neil.
The warm air wafts an enticing mix of fast food and picnic aromas over the whole scene of friendly country enjoyment.
It can mean only one thing - the Buskers Festival is back.T he festivities kicked off in typically entertaining style last night with a concert in the heart of the town, 50km north-east of Warrnambool. The concert was but a taste of things to come today, when the focus shifts to Dunlop Street for perhaps the most individual day of fun on the district calendar. Music spanning a wealth of styles will again sound from the main stage, providing a suitably varied background for the main stars - the buskers themselves - whose best for 1999 will be decided between 4.30 and 6.30pm. Throw in bike racing, belly dancing, vintage cars, antique sales, horse jumping and dog jumping, beer keg races, a hot air balloon, boxing kangaroos, 250 market stalls and a sound and light spectacular and the problem is not what to see, but what to see next. Since its inception seven years ago the festival's key attraction has been its wide appeal to all ages, but this year the youngsters have been especially catered for. The Lego truck will be in town and the Giggles, who bear more than a passing resemblance to a well-known group of children's entertainers, are sure to be a hit. Children can follow a "yellow brick road" to Fantasyland, where they will encounter Fairy Kingdom, a Teddy Bears' Picnic, kitemaking and face painting and Playstation video games.

Buskers sing rainswept blues -- Warrnambool Standard 8th Feb 1999 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1999. All rights reserved
ORGANISERS of the Mortlake Buskers Festival are hoping to escape with no more than a small loss from this year's storm-battered event. In a cruel end to a week of scorching temperatures, the seventh annual festival squelched to a soggy halt on Saturday when rain and fierce winds drove the last hardy souls back to their cars or into the cafes and hotels. President of the organising committee Greg Howat said yesterday he would be happy for this year's festival to break even or register a small loss. "A good result would be to break even," said a disappointed Mr Howat, who has seen both festivals he has presided over plagued by rain. "From an overall budget of $150,000 or so, to lose a few thousand is no big deal." Mr Howat said successive washouts did not threaten the future of the popular festival, which managed to attract several thousand visitors despite the weather. "No, we would need another three or four years like this before it got to that stage. We are not in a position where we will tip over tomorrow." Mr Howat said sponsors, stallholders and other supporters realised the festival was an outdoor event in which the weather was always an unknown factor. The rain which began in the early afternoon suddenly became a full-blown squall when a fresh front blew in minutes before 5pm. Strong winds caught many street stall operators in Dunlop Street in the process of packing up, causing havoc as tarpaulins turned into flapping sails. The roof of an inflatable jumping castle in Market Square collapsed onto children, sending parents scurrying to pull them clear amid a flurry of leaves and debris. The west-facing main stage, which took the brunt of the driving rain, was closed for safety reasons mid-way through the Busker of the Year performances. Several trees had branches torn off, including a large limb which crashed across a road in the camping ground, close to horse transports parked for the showjumping events. No injuries were reported. The closing highlight of the festival, a sound and light spectacular at the D.C. Farran Oval, went ahead as scheduled following a meeting by the organising committee to assess safety issues. The show was preceded with brief performances by Turning Blue and Eric Bogle, whose earlier scheduled appearances at the main stage had to be abandoned.

Young busker is best in the west - and east -- Warrnambool Standard 7th Feb 2000 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2000 All rights reserved
WARRNAMBOOL teenager Rebecca Martin was happy when she was named the best junior at the Mortlake Buskers' Festival, but she was lost for words when she was named Australian busker of the year. The 14-year-old singer-guitarist and songwriter was named the winner of the busking championships on Saturday after beating stiff competition from other categories, such as street theatre, group musical and individual. Rebecca, a year nine student at Brauer College in Warrnambool is originally from Tasmania. She won the title after performing three of her own songs: Slipp, Can't and Just Me, and received $750 in prizemoney and vouchers. She said her family, including father Ross, stepmother Carol, sister Laura, 12, and brother David, 4, were "stoked". Rebecca said the festival was the first event at which she had busked with her guitar. She described the fest as "great fun" and a good opportunity to meet and see different musicians. Rebecca said she had the competition just to "have a go". She was enlisted on the spot to perform at the Dandenong folk festival.
Warm weather and plenty of sunshine set the scene for the rejuvenated festival, putting the event "back in the black." After two years of washouts, festival committee executive officer John MacInnes said the gods had finally smiled on the event. "This is ideal, perhaps a little too breezy, but let's not be too picky," he said with a laugh. Mr MacInnes estimated up to 20,000 people attended the festival and were treated to music styles from around the world. Mortlake is 45km north-east of Warrnambool. He said he was pleased with the turnout to Saturday's festival and the new Sunday concert at which the crowd swelled to 3000 people, surpassing expectations. The committee was particularly happy with the success of the festival after it incurred a loss last year due to heavy rain. Mr MacInnes estimated that although the final sums still needed to be calculated, the group was "back in the black". Organisers hoped to make the successful Sunday concert - which featured acts including Vika and Linda Bull, Andy Cowan and Big Mamas Door, Tom Yates and Jane Saunders - a regular event. Among the busking prizes a Warrnambool outfit, the Guy Smiley Trio, won the amplified bands category. Hexham junior group Girl Power won their category followed by a group representing Mortlake College, while acts fromAnglesea and Greendale impressed roving, anonymous judges by winning their divisions. The new venue for the festival at the football oval proved a hit with organisers but was slammed by some traders who recorded "lousy" sales figures and called for the event to return to Dunlop Street. However, organisers were united in their support for the new site which committee president Greg Howat said complimented the festival's family focus. Festival site co-ordinator Peter Goddard described the new venue as "theonly way to go". Meanwhile, Senior Constable Peter Newell, of Mortlake police, said crowds were generally well behaved but some young people had ignored a ban on drinking in the town and as a result had their alcohol tipped into the gutter on Saturday night. "There were a lot of drunk rats in the sewer," he said with a chuckle.

Ready to busk -- Warrnambool Standard 9th Mar 2001 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2001 All rights reserved
THE Mortlake Buskers’ Festival swings into its ninth year this Saturday, presenting a revitalised new one-day format in a bid to ensure its long-term future. Feature acts of the festival include Uncle Bill, a Melbourne bluegrass band which supported Paul Kelly on Smoke, his excursion into that style of music in late 1999. Also appearing will be blues performer Bo Jenkins, who scored rave reviews for his self-financed solo debut Razorback Road when it was released in mid-1998. Jenkins, who moved to Melbourne from the Mississippi Delta with his Australian-born wife in 1994, plays an acoustic live set mixing originals and covers of artists including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Hank Williams. The Hornet, an acoustic blues band with members drawn from the Black Sorrows, Daddy Cool and Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, and six-piece act The Caam are other major players. Returning to the festival is the Australian Busking Champion 2000 Rebecca Martin, who has performed at a number of festivals since winning the competition last year. Festival president Tony Phillips said the busking championship would again be a highlight of the day. “The performers are brilliant in their own right and deserve the opportunity to compete for such a national accredited award,” he said. Festival executive administrator David Stratford said there would be about 100 performers and buskers from all over the state, about 200 stalls, an acrobatics display and the dog jump. Other leading performers include The Sweet Hearts of Swing, The Hip Catz, Neil Adam & Judy Turner and Dave McFarlane. The festival runs from 10am until midnight at D.C. Farran Oval.

Buskers' Festival faces third change of venue -- Warrnambool Standard 5th June 2001 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2001 All rights reserved
ORGANISERS are remaining tight-lipped on the future of the troubled Mortlake Buskers Festival with plans to relocate the event. The festival committee has its eye on the more central location, the shore of Tea Tree Lake, for next year's event - which would be the third move in its nine-year history. The festival has been held at the D.C. Farran Oval for the past two years but was dogged by unfavorable weather and a drop in attendance figures. Moyne Shire councillor Brenda Hampson said she had been aware of discussions about a relocation but the committee would not disclose its plans to move. "All I can say is that it's going to Tea Tree Lake," she said. "It's a magnificent venue for any social function. We're making a step in the right direction and it will please the local community." Festival organisers said yesterday they had not reached a decision on the location of the annual event. "There's several issues that the festival organisers have to address and until that time we're not prepared to make a statement," committee president Anthony Phillips said. Only 1500 people attended the February 3 festival which was affected by sweltering weather. Last year, organisers said 3000 were in attendance. Stallholders have since threatened to boycott the festival, saying it was the worst year in the event's history. Another location considered is the central business area, where strong profits were made in the past. However, Cr Hampson said the idea had been dismissed at the last annual meeting. "The setting and packing up of the festival by 6pm was a big problem," she said. The lake area has the advantage of providing attractive surroundings and adequate shelter but a lack of fences makes the task of collecting money difficult. Cr Hampson said she was enthusiastic about the festival's future. "The busking is fantastic, the music is brilliant, you just have to have the right weather and they'll have the best festival in Australia. I wish them well," she said.