CresFest lifts the lid of its final headline acts

WITH CresFest2023 less than two months away, event director Judy Turner has announced the final line-up of extraordinary diverse and multicultural musicians performing at this year’s folk and roots music festival.

Turner said that she was humbled that so many renowned international and national musicians have accepted the invitation to perform at Creswick for the three-day event.

“The World surely is coming to Creswick, which just by chance is the theme for our final artist announcement, and is the title of day two, proudly sponsored by the Victorian Government Multicultural Festivals and Events program,” she said.

The latest line-up includes Tibetan Tenzin Choegyal, master of traditional Tibetan instruments and extraordinary vocal ability.

Also confirmed is Martha Spencer, hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia who will be playing Appalachian mountain music, singing and flatfoot dance of old songs and new originals with banjo, guitar and fiddle.

Catriona McKay and Chris Stout, from Shetland, have been together for more than 25 years, and play traditional Scottish harp and fiddle music.

Well-known First Nations proud Ngiyampaa artist Pirritu will be making gentle honest music from the heart.

For something completely different the award winning The Lost Clog will be bringing laugh-out-loud humour and heart swelling harmonies along with tongue-in-cheek twists on archaic cliches.

In a new partnership with La Boîte, the Sanacori music ensemble from Southern Italy will showcase traditional music and dance, with a fresh contemporary feel.

Iranian Miagh Zamani, who has been playing music since the age of four, learnt to play 16 instruments from piano, guitar and clarinet, through to traditional daf, setar, oud and duduk.

He’s a virtuoso pianist and medical sonographer and said he wants his music to be the voice of abandoned cultures, buried histories, and forgotten arts.

“My goal is to bring oneness and unity between all sounds and instruments, to produce a unique music that sounds familiar to all listeners,” Zamani said.

There are more extraordinary musicians performing at CresFest from Friday 31 March to 2 April.

To find the full line-up and book tickets go to cresfest.com.au and follow the links.

The Ballarat Times, sister publication of the Bendigo Times and McIvor Times is a proud media partner of CresFest2023.

– BY FIONA WATSON