Love of small halls prompts return of big events

106-year-old Coffs Coast venue to play host to Polynesian island vibes and indie-pop rock.

Jeff Otto prepares to MC the Coramba event in the Festival of Small Halls Summer Tour last year.

They are the stalwarts of country life, with stories sometimes as old as the communities themselves and soon a special tour will be bringing music back to small towns across the region.

The Festival of Small Halls have announced that feel-good ukulele strummer and drummer Bobby Alu and two-piece indie pop-rock band This Way North will feature on their upcoming tour of NSW with two dates on the Coffs Coast.

The the twenty-first edition of the much-loved not-for-profit music tour will be visiting the JH Davis Memorial Hall in Dorrigo on April 10 and will be finishing up at the 106-year-old Coramba Hall on May 2.

Refusing to be thwarted by a rapidly changing and challenging events environment, Festival of Small Halls has continued to keep small towns clapping with extra effort and support provided to communities to keep these regional tours safely running as planned.

“We were so inspired and impressed by the way community halls have been able to adopt these new conditions and not shy away from the extra hoops they have had to jump through to keep their communities safe,” said producer Eleanor Rigden.

“Towards the end of 2020 when we got back on the road, hall committees and local groups really stepped up, realising it was more important than ever to support their communities to safely come together after a year of difficulty and isolation.”

BREAKING THE RULES: Singer Jack Carty breaks one of his life rules by performing in shorts to beat the heat when the Festival of Small Halls came to Nymboida last year.

Halls of all shapes and sizes will throw open their doors during the tour, from the rolling green hills of the Mid North hinterlands, to the dry bush of the Central West, from gold rush country to the fertile Southern Tablelands; from the golden sands of the south east coast, to the majesty of the Snowys.

The tour will take in the sprawling mass of regional New South Wales in a four-week marathon of excellent music, community spirit and the finest of country hospitality.

Famous for their larger-than-life folk festivals over the last two decades, Woodfordia presents a program to be loved by their core base and new fans alike with the smooth Polynesian island vibes of Bobby Alu and the indie pop-rock party of van-lifers This Way North.

It’s been three years since Leisha Jungalwalla and Cat Leahy of This Way North traded their bricks-and-mortar homes for life on the road, and that spirit of adventure and unbridled joy has taken up permanent residence in their music.

Taking out Best Outer Suburban Act 2018 at The Age Music Victoria Awards, This Way North are on a steady incline. It’s easy to forget they are just a two-piece band. Drummer/vocalist Leahy and guitarist/vocalist Jungalwalla create explosive energy and expansive sound, that translates effortlessly from the studio to the stage.

The duo are no strangers to the road and are thrilled to be heading out. Cat said;

“We are beyond excited to resume life on the road with Festival of Small Halls, touring regionally is one of our favourite things to do, the places, the people, playing shows, the road, it‘s our happy place!”

The Festival of Small Halls at Bassett Park, Roma in 2019

Amid smooth harmonies, rhythms inspired by a strong family lineage of Polynesian performance Bobby Alu tunes have a way of sneaking into the subconscious and taking up residence.

For Bobby Alu, touring regional New South Wales is just like going home.

“I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to get back to touring after the longest break I’ve had since hitting the road over a decade ago. I’m really excited to visit, explore and perform in these regional towns.”, said Bobby.

Though it’s not all palm trees and daydreams – there’s a robust energy in Alu’s mastery of traditional Samoan log drums, and a vitality to his song writing that nods to world, roots and pop intelligence. Audiences should anticipate gentle optimism rather than forceful instruction and may wish to replicate the reflections taken from each performance the next day in a hammock.

Festival of Small Halls Autumn Tour 2021 starts on Wednesday 7th of April at the Yetman Memorial Hall before continuing on to 19 communities across regional New South Wales. The tour concludes at the Coramba Community Hall on 2 May 2021.

Tickets on sale from February 24 at www.festivalofsmallhalls.com

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