Music news with Darren Lowe

CRESFEST is back again with a three-day multi-generational and inclusive celebration of music, art and culture in April.

The festival sees Creswick throw open its doors, with contemporary folk and roots artist performances from some of the best local, national and international artists, including Tibet's Tenzin Choegyal, pictured, hosted across a variety of locations – from goldrush era buildings and local pubs to cafes and outdoor venues.

Yandoit Cultural is starting the year with Raziel Gutierrez Soto and Julian Harrison - a world/ethereal music fusion duo.

Using vocals, aerophone and guitar their music is inspired by nature with a homogeneous blend of influences and spontaneous improvisation.

Both Raziel and Julian are professional musicians with many years’ experience, refined expertise with their instruments and they draw on different cultural and musical backgrounds.

The concert is on Friday, February 17 from 6pm at the former Uniting Church, Yandoit. Entry by donation. Details and bookings: Nikki on 0432 232 073.

Angel Olsen is playing at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on February 24. Having released her latest sixth album, with overt country music influences, this will be a must see in Angel's first Australian gig.

Got some music news to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

The Mount Players are stepping back in time with the adaption of a comedy classic.

2022 marked the 100th anniversary of radio broadcasting - the BBC, then called 2LO, made its first broadcast in November 1922. Australia followed a year later.

Within just a couple of years listeners were enjoying a "theatrical experience" without leaving their own homes as radio plays took to the air, providing a wealth of inexpensive entertainment as well as worthy competition to the new talking movies (‘talkies’) sweeping the world.

Actors wearing tuxedos and Brylcreemed hair, actresses in long gowns, dressed to the nines, would gather round a microphone, often in front of a live audience, while sound effects people created the appropriate noises to convince their audience that the characters really were on a mountain top, in a train or on a battlefield, and present a theatrical performance just on a canvas of sound.

The production format remains much as it has been for the last century. A small group of actors playing multiple parts around a microphone, aided and abetted by one or two sound effects people producing sounds in a most creative and often unexpected way. Crumpling vegetables, punching cabbages, splashing in tubs of water, usually accompanied by technical staff with a library of recorded sounds.

The Mount Players' first production for 2023 is a BBC radio play based on the 1935 Hitchcock thriller The 39 Steps. Director John Rowland promises to take the current audience, as the live audience in a BBC radio studio, on a thrilling, riotous and hilarious journey. The play contains every legendary scene from the awardwinning movie including the chase on the Flying Scotsman, the escape on the Forth Bridge, the bi-plane crash and the sensational death-defying finale in the London Palladium. The play runs from Friday, February 24 to Sunday, March 12.

Fifty per cent of takings from the Thursday, March 2 night performance will be donated to Gisborne Foodbank. Cash and food donations can be left in the foyer at each performance.

Details and tickets: www.themountplayers.com or 5426 1892.

Words: Karen Hunt

Dry Brined Pork Rack with Ginger Sweet Potato and Tangy Slaw

BY RICHARD CORNISH

It takes a bit of time, but this little trick will make your next roast pork dinner a true celebration. Start the day before and make sure the skin on the pork is bone dry to help it crisp up in the oven. These dishes have great Asian flavours and the meal is great with Tsing Tao beer or even a full flavoured chardonnay or pinot noir.

For this recipe and many others, click on the QR code below or visit daylesfordmeatco. com.au

Tasty Lamb Loin Chops

2kg for $50

These chops are cut nice and thick. The same cut as a T-Bone, they contain the loin and fillet either side of the central bone with a layer of fat running down one side. For best results, cook fat side down to render it before grilling quickly to medium-rare. Perfect for BBQ and always very tender.