Introducing PROGRAMMER’S PICKS – your guide to your favourite new artists

We’ve got so many great artists making their Port Fairy Folk Festival debut in March, and with just four weeks to go we thought we’d share some intel on some of the 100+ artists who are gearing up ready to play on the Folkie stages.

We’ve gone straight to the source and asked Port Fairy Folk Festival Program Director Justin Rudge who he was most excited about and why – read on!

Fantastic Negrito

I have been a fan of the band for probably 10+ years, and we were close to booking them on their last tour to Australia, but some wild pandemic got in the way!  So when I saw they were touring again in 2025 in Europe, I made sure to catch a show to ensure they were going to take Port Fairy to a new level – and I was blown away.  A fantastic show by a Grammy Award winner – that’s sure to blow up the Shebeen – don’t miss it!

El Pony Pisador

This is simply one of the funnest bands I’ve seen in the last few years – getting a ragtag sea shanty band from Catalonia, Spain to Australia is no small feat, but after a few years of trying, I’m so glad to see this band on our poster.  They’ll play a couple of shows across the festival, and like fellow collaborators The Longest Johns recent Australian tour, I know they’re going to be one of the acts that everyone is talking about.

Kankawa Nagarra

This is a great story of how wide-reaching the Folk Festival family is.  While I had seen the name about the place, it was one of our founding committee members, Margaret Whitehead, who re-flagged them to my attention, and I’m so glad she did!  Not long after we started discussing them coming to Port Fairy in 2026 did they win the coveted Australian Music Prize.  Kankawa is a magnificent performer with a unique story from our First Nations people.  Playing on Friday and Saturday, I’ll be in the front row.

Mia Kelly

It’s pretty unusual that I would book a relatively new performer without seeing them with my own eyes, but having followed Mia’s career from Canada and out across the world over the last 18 months, and being equally captivated by her live videos and recorded material, this is one that I can’t wait to see.  Mia will be with us all weekend, and is even hosting a Future Folk show as she has been one of our first international mentors in that program – a future star for sure!

Catch all these amazing artists and many more across the Festival weekend!

Port Fairy Folk Festival takes place in Port Fairy, Victoria over the Labour Day long weekend, 6-9 March 2026.