One of Australia's most loved, family-friendly music and camping festivals, Fairbridge Festival returns from 22-24 April 2022 with wonder and magic for all-ages at Fairbridge Village, Pinjarra.
As Western Australia starts opening its border to those near and far, this beloved annual event in its 29th year follows - with a splendid first line-up of music, dance, and children's activities to inspire and delight people from all over.
While the excitement for the South West festival continues to build, here are the artists that have been confirmed as part of the 2022 performance lineup.
Albi and the Wolves:
- Albi & The Wolves will bring their foot stomping hoedowns and soul stirring ballads wrapped in soaring three-part harmonies to the festival and toes will demand to be tapped.
Jenny Mitchell:
- With musical echoes of Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss, New Zealand's Jenny Mitchell brings the charm of her own inimitable style of storytelling.
The Chipolatas:
- Fairbridge Festival is bringing back some ol' faves in Mal Webb & Kylie Morrigan and Lucy Wise & Stephen Taberner - two of Australia's "all-time" favourite festival acts; and acclaimed arts performers The Chipolatas (UK) make a welcome return after five years and 26 years since their festival debut.
Cigany Weaver:
- Fusing the passion of gypsy music, the precision of classical and the spontaneity of jazz, Cigany Weaver will bring phenomenal musical prowess led by the unbelievable octave-spanning vocals of Jo Davies.
Ami Williamson:
- No words can effectively describe Ami Williamson (daughter of the legendary John) - a wonderfully skilled singer (ex-Opera Australia) and entertainer of extraordinary capacity, Ami will have you laughing and crying - quite likely at the same time.
Andrea Kirwin and Yama-Nui Social Club:
- In a major festival coup, the three-day festival welcomes the return of Fijian-born Andrea Kirwin but this time with the 13-piece Yama-Nui Social Club. Including artists from around the South Pacific, prepare for soulful original music backed with strings, horns, and gorgeous backing vocals.
Lois Olney:
- Fairbridge is also proud to present the Indigenous jazz singer, actress and artist, Lois Olney. With beautiful gentle songs of joy, love, loss and longing, nothing compares to Lois's deep humanity and engaging stage presence.
This musical array will accompany Fairbridge Festival's usual agenda, including dance classes, craft workshops, markets, food stalls and diverse children and family events.
Artistic director Rod Vervest said the festival program was full of uplifting and inspirational events.
"Our team are a wonderful group of passionate arts workers who are all professionals in their fields. They live and breathe Fairbridge with a deep understanding of what makes it tick; what keeps its big heart beating," he said.
"Despite the challenges of the past few years operating in a pandemic, Fairbridge Festival has instigated new operational systems, organisational structure, and a reconfiguration of the festival layout. COVID has given us a window to reimagine and activate a fresh approach to how we deliver the event.
"I'm immensely proud of how our team has achieved this."
Audiences will see the return of the popular Ruby's venue and the Dining Hall as well as a new amphitheatre.
"The financial pressures of cancelling the festival in 2020 and a restricted ticket sale in 2021 meant we couldn't afford the usual suite of venues," Mr Vervent said.
"While it remains a challenge to bring back the Djindalux venue, we are nevertheless back with some real scale and diversity of experiences. I can't wait to see the new Amphitheatre in action.
"There is an incredible energy building to the 2022 program. More than ever, you sense that the community is now urgently in need of the type of social interaction and creative engagement that festivals bring.
"We need to feel connected to each other, to share experiences that stimulate and inspire us, the things that build collective memories and become part of our shared lives and our sense of humanity into the future.
"This is what festivals can do, and this is what we are hard at work thinking about and creating".
Early bird tickets go on sale at 7am on December 2 via the Festival's website and will offer a range of reduced-price tickets, including: day tickets, camping packages for up to four people, and luxury glamping for up to five people.
Prices will revert to standard prices on January 13.