2025 LINE-UP

Andrea Kirwin & Claire EvelynnAndrea Kirwin is an Australian-Fijian Singer-songwriter based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD, who has been performing at Folk Festivals across Australia and New Zealand for almost 2 decades. With a warm stage presence, soulful sound and a...

Bess Atwell  (ENG)Brighton-based artist Bess Atwell heads to Australia for the first time in 2025! Upon the release of her Always, Already album - Bess Atwell’s missive as a songwriter became fully formed, marking her as one of Britain’s most assured young voices. At...

BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN (usa)Over the years, Bonny Light Horseman has accumulated many miles on the collective odometer of life. The band’s core trio – Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman – has amassed an incomparable collected resume. Mitchell is a...

THE BROTHER BROTHERS (USA)The Brother Brothers are the indie folk duo of Adam and David Moss. The identical twins were born and raised in Peoria, Illinois and originally based in Brooklyn, but have been ultimately and profoundly shaped by a life surrounded by travel...

 Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall ConcertThe great CAT POWER is coming to Port Fairy Folk Festival, performing Bob Dylan’s lifechanging set in Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. Almost 59 years to the day, Bob Dylan’s most...

CHIKCHIKAChikchika features renowned Oromo singer-songwriter Muluu Baqqalaa with Tigrinya vocalists Anbessa Gebrehiwot and Haftu Reda. Accompanied by traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian stringed instruments, the krar and masinko, Chikchika weave important stories of...

Clare Sands (IRE)A sixth generation fiddler & bilingual singer, Sands has been wowing audiences around the world with her groundbreaking style and infinite warrior energy. Electrifying live performances see Clare on fiddle, guitar, percussion, vocals &...

DEAN OWENS & THE SINNERS (SCO)Award-winning troubadour Dean Owens and his band will transport you to a sepia stained downtown cantina with songs from his stunning Sinner’s Shrine album (recorded with musicians from Calexico) and brand new 2025 release Spirit Ridge...

THE EAST POINTERS (CAN)Adding to their volumes of East Coast myth-making, The East Pointers’ forthcoming anthology of celebratory anthems and incendiary tune sets is a natural evolution of playing to ‘hometown’ crowds of thousands the world over, full family kitchen...

Grassy Strings (IND)Grassy Strings weave together traditional tunes and bluegrass standards, even incorporating Indian songs in different languages for a truly unique sound. Their talent isn't just captivating audiences in India – Grassy Strings has been making waves...

Gusto GustoFinalists for the 2023 Australian Folk Music Awards’ Artist of the Year, Gusto Gusto is West Preston's best dressed band, playing music to make you dance. A flamboyant seven-piece show with a hefty dose of audience participation and non-stop dance tunes, we...

HANA & JESSIE-LEE'S BAD HABITSSewing twang, lyrical wit and late-night musings into a country-soul heart, Hana and Jessie-Lee’s Bad Habits craft sauntering, hook-laden tapestries steeped in rock-and-roll swagger. Hana's searing, sophisticated and effortlessly...

HANNAH ALDRIDGE (USA)Hannah Aldridge grew up on the muddy banks of Muscle Shoals. A reckoning between her coming-to-age in the South and a lifetime of trying to create an identity outside of it, her songs strike a delicate balance between rebellion and self-discovery....

Jenny Mitchell (NZL) Jenny Mitchell is a gifted storyteller with the grit and experience to wear her heart proudly on her sleeve. Originally hailing from NZ's Country Music Capital of Gore, her music is full of warmth, truth and family harmonies - think the best of...

JOHN SMITH (ENG)He was dubbed the future of folk music by Pentangle’s John Renbourn, but singer-songwriter John Smith’s unique synthesis of styles puts him halfway across the Atlantic. The Living Kind is his masterpiece in American atmospherics: a true musician’s...

Jon Muq (UGA/USA)For Jon Muq, a singer-songwriter born in Uganda and now living in Austin, Texas, music is part of a larger conversation he’s having with the world and everybody in it. Drawing from African as well as western musical trends and traditions, he devises...

KATIE SPENCER (ENG)Progressive singer-songwriter and guitarist, Katie Spencer, was raised in the flatlands of Northern England. Her landscape has always been that of open skies and widening rivers. Industry still shapes the city here. The people, as with the land, are...

KRISTIN HERSH (USA)The inimitable Kristin Hersh is a musician's musician, a songwriter's songwriter, and an innovator's innovator. Her first band, Throwing Muses, began recording and playing out when they were just 14 years old and they're still going - 2020's...

KUTCHA EDWARDSFrom the wings of a darkened stage drifts the evocative, slightly haunting sound of clap sticks. A stoically paced figure slowly emerges singing in his traditional language. This signals the introduction to a Kutcha Edwards performance. He uses his...

LIAN HUSI TIMORLian Husi Timor in English means, 'Sounds of the East.' Members of Warrnambool's vibrant and emerging Timor Leste community created this group for a debut Folkie performance in 2023. Initially as a way to open the door here in Australia for a unique...

Lindigo (REU)For 20 years, the Lindigo group, led by Olivier Araste, has been Reunion Island's most popular Maloya group. Their approach goes beyond nostalgia, using their roots to build the future—this is the essence of "Maloya Power." With over 1,500 concerts, seven...

LITTLE QUIRKSAustralian folk-rock songbirds Little Quirks produce an unforgettable explosive energy, that transports their audiences into a smile inducing state. With an all-female front and youthful love for performing, a fresh unbridled joy emanates in every...

Meghan Maike & The Cactus Flowers In true country tradition, this Canadian singer-songwriter found inspiration on the road - from Montreal to Mississippi, and now Melbourne. Born into folk and honed in country, Maike’s influences (from the greats; Emmylou, Gram,...

MICK THOMAS' ROVING COMMISSIONMick Thomas has been a staple of Melbourne’s music scene for well over 30 years. Raconteur, troubadour, balladeer and poet, he is best known as the song master of icons Weddings Parties Anything. His band The Roving Commission featuring...

MISSY HIGGINSMissy Higgins is one of Australia’s most beloved singer/songwriters. She has struck a deep and enduring chord with her irresistible melodies and ‘arrow through the heart’ lyrics, delivered by a striking voice that clearly means it. Since being Unearthed...

Muireann Bradley (IRE)Muireann Bradley is a 17 year old folk and blues guitarist and singer from Ballybofey in County Donegal. She specializes in performing acoustic fingerpicking country, piedmont, and ragtime blues styles from the 1920s, 30s and 40s as well as later...

NIAMH BURY (IRE)Niamh Bury is one of the most exciting new voices on the Irish folk scene, nominated for ‘Best Emerging Artist’ at the RTE Folk Awards in her first few months out. Her debut album, Yellow Roses released March 2024 quickly stirred hearts and received...

Old Man Luedecke (CAN)Old Man Luedecke is one of Canada’s best loved and most intriguing roots singer-songwriters. Known for his masterful banjo playing, he was born and raised in Toronto and now lives rurally on the south shore of Nova Scotia. With a storyteller’s...

PETER GARRETT & THE ALTER EGOS Peter Garrett is one of our most prominent living Australians. A renowned activist, former politician, and lead singer of Midnight Oil is a long-time campaigner on a range of local and global issues. He served as president of the...

RUTHIE FOSTER (USA)Ruthie Foster's musical journey is as eclectic and vibrant as her soulful voice. Born into a gospel-rich family in Gause, Texas, Ruthie was influenced by her mother, grandmother, and artists like Gospel Keynotes and Blind Boys of Alabama. Initially...

SIMON JOYNER (USA)Simon is widely regarded as one of the great singer-songwriter's of our generation. Two albums released locally, Pocket Moon and Songs From A Stolen Guitar. There will be a reissue of his third album, 1994's The Cowardly Traveller Pays His Toll (30th...

síomha (IRE)Independent Irish musician Síomha (pronounced She-vah) dances the line between folk, jazz and neo-soul effortlessly taking audiences on an unexpected and unforgettable journey with her soulful melodies. Her debut album Infinite Space, described by The...

SKERRYVORE (SCO)Over the last 19 years, Skerryvore have brought their high energy performances to audiences across the globe. They are the only band to have been awarded Scotland’s ‘Live Act of the Year’ on 3 occasions. Their 7 studio albums demonstrate the wide range...

TALISK (SCO) One of the most talked-about folk bands of the 21st century, Talisk have been tearing apart stereotypes and redefining the genre for almost a decade. With over 15 million streams, 10,000 albums sold worldwide, and sold out shows across five continents –...