Lior. Photo courtesy of Four Winds Festival.
Stefan Cassomenos. Photo courtesy of Creativity Australia.
2018 festival Djaadjawaan dancers. Photo credit, Raine Brown Photography.
Chloe Leong in ‘Cinco’. Photographed by Wendell Teodoro.
FOUR WINDS FESTIVAL Looking for something to do over the Easter weekend? Why not soak up some rich music and arts at the 2021 Four Winds Festival?
“This is the perfect place for us to gather and reconnect with each other, with nature, with music, with the world,” Lindy said.
Nestled deep in the bush at the magnificent Barraga Bay site near Bermagui, the festival will host both local and visiting artists from April 2-4 for three joyous days of entertainment.
“This will be a weekend of celebration and reflection, a gathering site for artists and audiences, locals and visitors to our region, people of all ages and backgrounds.
From English Baroque to Candelo folk, from Middle Eastern song to contemporary dance, from ancient Yuin culture to ancient Greek tales, and from romantic poetry to Ravel piano trios, the Four Winds Festival is a cornucopia of culture in the heart of NSW’s South Coast.
“Four Winds Festival 2021 comes after a period of stress and upheaval for the South Coast. Making a festival of music and art in a natural setting, together with the community, seems a good place to start that recalibration.”
Lean back on the lawns of the Four Winds Sound Shell natural amphitheatre and allow your senses to open to the musical and ecological soundscape. Soak up layers of spectacular musicianship, artistic collaborations, occasional birdsong and breezes in the surrounding trees. Having been silent for over a year due to the pandemic, Creative Director Lindy Hume is looking forward to welcoming audiences back to the Sound Shell for the 2021 festival.
This year’s festival is themed ‘Reconnect’ and is animated by four key events. The festival opening event is ‘Things Are Looking Up: Songs from Yuin Country’, a free joyous all-in celebration of the music, dance, language and cultures of the region. Yuin artists perform a Welcome to Country, before joining the musician-storytellers of Candelo on the Sound Shell stage. Ancient Greek theatre comes to Four Winds each night of the Festival with ‘The Iliad – Out
Loud’. Local artist William Zappa’s adaptation of Homer’s epic tale of war and destiny earned standing ovations at the Sydney and Adelaide Festivals. Part one of ‘The Iliad - Out Loud’ is a free event. Making a spectacular appearance is Sydney Dance Company performing Rafael Bonachela’s stunning ‘Cinco’, to live accompaniment by a quartet of Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows strings players. The final statement of the festival is ‘Compassion’, a powerful music event with Hebrew/Arabic text, created by award-winning composer Nigel Westlake and the luminousvoiced performer Lior, featuring an astonishing line-up of Australian musicians. As well as an immersion in music and nature, experience Four Winds’ legendary hospitality and conviviality with great food, wine and coffee, local gin and other site experiences and stalls from local producers. For more details on the Four Winds Festival and to book tickets, visit fourwinds.com.au/2021fourwinds-festival/
Pictured left, The Muffat Collective. Pictured right, Goldner String Quartet. Photographs courtesy of Four Winds Festival.
12
YOUR COASTAL LIFE
