Blue Mountains Music Festival 2015

Abridging an entire evening’s entertainment down to a single review is never easy, but cramming a weekend of wonder into a handful of paragraphs is its own special torture. Over two days and three nights the 20th Blue Mountains Music Festival featured an eclectic array of spectacle and sound, from Maru Tarang’s Eastern-infused showcase to The Spooky Men’s Chorale’s hilarious baroque shenanigans. Tentpole names like John Butler (exceptional) and Macy Gray (flat and overly scripted) sat comfortably alongside emergent acts like Oh Pep! and Kay Proudlove, and all this despite a Friday evening wind that threatened to freeze the festival solid before it had even begun.

With over 50 acts on show, the enviable issue is finding yourself spoilt for choice (and spoilt for stage; sure, the Main Stage hosts big crowds, but the Tantric Turtle came complete with chai and coffee, so, priorities people). Opening night’s biggest drawcard was celebrated Cree musician Buffy Sainte-Marie, who at 74 brings a tremendous vitality to her performance. That said, her set seemed oddly homogeneous and judging from the crowd’s exodus, I was not the only one left a little underwhelmed. Preceding her was Friday’s highlight, Frank Yamma & David Bridie, who managed to instil each song with a sense of depth and space that belied the fact there were only two performers. With direct, powerful lyrics and superb harmonies, they are a pair I encourage you to track down.

Saturday is when this festival truly exploded, with a different performance wherever you turned your head. A characteristic of the BMMF is that the seven stages are all in relative proximity. It makes catching a variety of acts all the more convenient, but the flipside is that there does tend to be quite a noticeable overlap in competing sounds.

Once again, Dan Sultan proved why he remains such an attraction. The man has a presence that few can match, and the strength of his songwriting is staggering. Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse brought the Noongar language to startling life, and it was genuinely touching to see the delicacy and humility with which they encourage this endangered dialect. We Two Thieves enamoured the audience from the moment they took the stage and their banter, if a little tired, still managed to entertain. They did, however, suffer from some uneven sound levels; an issue, it must be said, that affected many performers throughout the festival. The Spooky Men’s Chorale were an exercise in Douglas Adams-esque humour and compellingly ridiculous antics (with extra points for their outstanding promotional posters); they also wear rather fetching hats, so that’s nice.

On Sunday Rowena Wise and Oh Pep! charmed their audience with ease; the former with a heart-on-sleeve honesty, the latter with stunning arrangements and a strong sense of narrative. Like most festival acts, All Our Exes Live in Texas performed every day, but it was their Sunday gig that soared. A person could roam far and wide and never find finer harmonies, and the songs themselves are as disparate as they are captivating. A clear audience favourite, their improvised banter was an enduring highlight, their instrumentation (guitar, mandolin, ukulele and accordion) catchy and winsome. The only foreseeable improvement would be a hurdy-gurdy, because nobody plays the hurdy-gurdy anymore and it is a truly fantastic word.

With some rather rollicking dancing, Perch Creek have to be one of the most entertaining troupes out there, and terrific songwriters to boot. ‘The Great Unknown’ and ‘Something In The Valley’ are masterful, haunting songs that bring shivers when heard live. Similarly, Jordie Lane Duo delivered some exceptional songs; much like Yamma and Bridie, it’s hard to believe songs of such power can come from just two people.

In all, the BMMF was a grand event. With a program brimming with performers of the highest calibre, my sole caveat was the numerous sound glitches that surfaced across multiple stages. Nevertheless, a spectacular time in a most spectacular setting.