Port Fairy–Day 2 & 3

A perfect sunny day welcomed the beginning of the festival on Friday. The main events kicked off at around six o’clock.

Rather than to commit to one show initially, I roamed around the festival site getting my bearings.



I eventually settled on Stage 3 where Luca Bloom was about to play. I have never seen Luca Bloom live before so was interested to see what all the hype was about.

He’s an engaging troubadour from Ireland.


He was followed by Crooked Still, more my type of music. A four piece Nugrass band from the USA, their brief set was delightful. Lead singer Aoife O’Donovan’s voice has been compared to Alison Krauss.



Whereas Friday was pleasantly warm and sunny, Saturday turned out hot and summery. Horror Country band, Graveyard Train were literally sweating in streamlets throughout their set of macabre songs which focus on the darker themes of ghosts, werewolves and graveyards.



I took time out in the afternoon to watch the Newmarket Handicap at the Star Hotel. As the horses were being loaded into the stalls, a sizeable crowd of drinkers gathered to watch an historic moment in racing history. Black Caviar won easily by several lengths despite lumping 58 kg, a record weight for a mare in the race. As she broke free from the pack, the crowd in the bar cheered uproariously to celebrate her perfect 10 from 10.

Back to festival - in the evening we grabbed a front row position in the Stage 4 tent, for two splendid acts.
First up was Joe Pug, singer/songwriter from Chicago. He’s a riveting act, playing his excellent songs with intensity and passion.



Joe Pug was followed by bluegrass and multi instrument maestro Tim O'Brien and his Two Oceans trio – in a word superb.



This morning is the first time I’ve been able to write without extreme glare making the process almost impossible. I’ll be investing in a laptop antiglare screen as soon as I get home.