Gearing up for its 41st edition this March 10-13, Port Fairy Folk Festival pays tribute to Australian musician, singer-songwriter-guitarist and writer Neil Murray who will receive the 2017 Port Fairy Folk Festival Maton Artist of the Year Award.
Neil’s work as a songwriter and musician, from the early days as a founding member of the Warumpi Band, to Neil Murray and The Rain Makers and throughout a stellar solo career, has captivated audiences from everywhere.
His extraordinary body of work includes songs My Island Home, first recorded with the Warumpi Band and then by Christine Anu, Good Light In Broome, Cleverman and Where My People Go among a long list of songs that have captured the imagination of the country.
Not only has Neil won the hearts of audiences for more than 30 years, he is also highly regarded by his peers and the industry as an artist who has made a significant contribution to music and culture. His life’s work has been a voice for reconciliation between white and indigenous Australians.
From festivals, pubs and inner city venues, to indigenous communities, from inside jails and at house concerts and around campfires, Neil performs wherever an audience can gather. His body of recorded work is extensive, including 10 original CDs and 2 compilations, books Sing For Me Countryman, One Man Tribe (poetry), Native Born (song lyrics), stage play King for this Place and 2 children’s books: My Island Home and Blackfella Whitefella.
Port Fairy Folk Festival program director Caroline Moore says “We salute Neil Murray and thank him for his extraordinary contributions to our cultural world!”
Port Fairy Folk Festival is renowned for its great line-ups and its seemingly endless array of concerts and workshops, set against a backdrop of sea, sun and surf in one of the most beautiful regions of Victoria’s south-west coast.
With more than 100 acts performing across 19 stages over four days, the festival will host 15,000 people per day within the ticketed arena and many more beyond and across the township who come to enjoy a wealth of free concerts on offer outside the festival grounds.
The festival has made four announcements and the line-up is now complete. The 2017 line up boasts its most comprehensive international selection in many years, as well as some regular and famous faces amongst the local line up.
- For more information: www.portfairyfolkfestival.com