\u201cWe\u2019re 40, but we\u2019re forever young; that\u2019s how I\u2019ll always feel about it,\u201d Jamie said.<\/p>\n
The first festival, held in 1977, was simple; staged on the back of a truck in Port Fairy because that\u2019s where Jamie\u2019s grandmother lived.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning it was so small. Port Fairy is a grassroots town and it\u2019s natural that the festival grew with it. Now we get around 15,000 people attending each year.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his experiences as Australia\u2019s longest-running festival director, Jamie said as a GP by trade and a healer by nature, he sees music events as a therapeutic art.<\/p>\n
\u201cCelebrating and making music together is in our DNA. It\u2019s what Indigenous communities have always done, it\u2019s what the birds sitting in the trees do \u2013 it makes us happy and brings us together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the initial motivation for the festival and the result has been mind-blowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come from all over to sit in a tent together and share a moment. Being a part of that can invigorate your whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie recalls one such experience that he said will stay with him forever.<\/p>\n
Archie Roach\u2019s wife, Ruby Hunter, passed away the same week he was due to perform at Port Fairy in 2010.<\/p>\n
Roach, who is also performing this year, flew directly from her funeral in South Australia to the festival and sat on stage in a state of despair.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was mentally and physically exhausted and we didn\u2019t know what would happen,\u201d Jamie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe started chatting about what he was going through then eventually said \u2018I\u2019d better play some songs\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe silence and support from the crowd was deafening, and as the set went on you could see him coming back to life, he completely regained his strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t help but get emotional talking about it; it was the most powerful thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the festival next weekend, Jamie will pass the baton to Caroline Moore.<\/p>\n
The Port Fairy Folk Festival is on March 11-14.<\/p>\n
For more information and to purchase tickets, head to portfairyfolkfestival.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe\u2019re 40, but we\u2019re forever young; that\u2019s how I\u2019ll always feel about it,\u201d Jamie said. The first festival, held in 1977, was simple; staged on the back of a truck in Port Fairy because that\u2019s where Jamie\u2019s grandmother lived. \u201cIn the beginning it was so small. Port Fairy is a grassroots town and it\u2019s natural […]<\/p>\n