Roots show takes on a revival

THE rustic sounds of the country are set to swell out of Buninyong Town Hall when bluesgrass, blues and folk music returns to the region this weekend.

On Saturday 15 July, the team behind Bended Knee Music Events will mark their resurgence to the live music fold with their Village Roots Revival concert.

With three acts on the bill, committee member Martin Scuffins said the event will be a local showcase of the traditionally American style.

“It’ll be primarily blues and folk styles with a bit of country thrown in,” he said.

“We’ve got Andrew Borg who’s based in Ballan who’s an award-winning guitarist and singer with an amazingly strong voice focused on blues styles.

“Then there’s Peter Daffy who sings in country style and swing music with his own original material who also makes his own guitars as a luthier.

“The third act is Heath and Andrea from Blue Limit who are very much in the bluegrass style. There’ll be virtuosic mandolin from Heath and Andrea will be on banjo and double bass.”

The event’s title is indicative of the organising body, with Bended Knee Music Events having rebranded from Bended Knee Music Festival.

Following their first event in 2019, plans to make the concert a biannual event fell through due to COVID lockdowns.

The upcoming gig will be the first since their initial event with the aim of shifting focus to smaller offerings instead of larger-scale shows.

“We were looking at reviving the festival last year,” Mr Scuffins said. “But with the date we were aiming for, CresFest suddenly appeared.

“The festival scene in Victoria is becoming fairly crowded. There’s so many big festivals now and we’re a small committee so we thought we’d shoot for a few smaller events instead.”

Mr Scuffins said he’s hopeful the weekend concert will be the first of many to come.

“It’s a bit of an experiment,” he said. “If it’s supported, we’ll look at doing it perhaps three seasons a year, every season except summer.

“This will be a bit of a winter warmer event with mulled wine to cheer people up during the darkest, coldest season of the year.”

Tickets are $40 with concession at $35 and can be booked at bit.ly/43kkd7a.