Music is the land singing life through us. And when the most important relationship we have is with the land, sometimes we need a good hootenanny to get us back into the song. Hootenanny Highway was forged from a love of standing side-by-side, singing harmony with old friends, and glancing sideways over instrument necks to smile across the music. It is a combination of many musicians from various outfits who have come together from as far north as the top of majestic Bundjalung Country to as far south as sparkling Yaegl Country to do just that. With an all-acoustic line-up of old timey and bluegrass instruments, different players jump on and off for each piece to curate an exquisite array of slowly-decolonising-coloniser folk fanfare – a dream run of songs, tunes, tribute and laughter as if around a big old kitchen table. You may recognise troubadour songstress Mandy Hawkes (Mandy Hawkes band, and Hawkes & Webster), local treasure Tom Brunnekreef (Mandy Hawkes band, formerly Honey & Knives), magnificent multi-instrumentalist Julian Smith (Sophiella & the Handsome Husbands), Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival alumni darling Ash Bell (formerly Ash Bell & Sara Tindley, and Starboard Cannons), upcoming fan favourite Daniel Friel (Huxley & Friel), and the totally romantic Olive Gap Family Band. The show is raising funds for the young students of Sierra Learning Centre in Freetown (Sierra Leone) that was recently founded by Aussie-Sierra Leonean Lismore local and legend library assistant Sarah King – keep your eye out for the fundraising buckets at the festival shop and donate generously. A magic carpet bejewelled with traditional, contemporary and original songs and tunes will unfurl before you. Step on, buckle in and get ready to ride the Hootenanny Highway!

“New, vulnerable, intimate, with a rare ability to connect with the audience” – Simon Winfield (Pearces Creek Hall, NSW)