Violinist Rachel Meyers and accordionist Dave McNamara boldly combine Klezmer and other Jewish music with experimental instrumentals and original compositions. This collaboration brings together their shared love of melodic lyricism, minimalism, experimentation, and improvisation. They are a joyfully unrestrained duo. Dave even wrote Rach a love song that won him last year’s Folk Federation of Tasmania Song of the Year. For the young ones, Dave will be teaching a kids’ ukulele class, ukes provided and fun guaranteed.

Tiffany is a folksinger and choir leader who has been writing and sharing her songs for decades at festivals all around Australia. Her music is inspired by her experience of the natural world, the ins and outs of family life, and her curiosity about our common human spirit. She will be joined on stage by her two fellow Huon Valley representatives of the programme, Ross Smithard and Dave Steel.

Yokel Hokum is made up of four of Tassie’s world-class jazz players, coming together for a MRFF Hokum-style special. The band is Randal Muir on accordion, Ralph Forehead on guitar, Isaac Gee on double bass, and Danny Healy on clarinet and bass clarinet like you’ve never heard it played before. They’ll play 30s style swing, so if you get along to Nicky and Priya’s swing dancing class on Saturday afternoon, you’ll be all ready to twist up the grass to these guys later in the night. Yokel Hokum’s guitarist Ralph will also be offering a flamenco guitar workshop over the weekend.

Hamish Stevenson is an electronic music producer and virtuosic double bassist. Emily Sheppard is a wildly experimental concert violinist. The two will collaborate for a late night disco.

Dave started out playing pub bands around Melbourne and has ended up recording eleven albums and being nominated for three ARIA awards. These days Dave chooses to live the peaceful life in the small town of Franklin, playing his finger lickin’ guitar pickin’ blues when and where he feels like it.

Uillean Piper Heath Richardson will be joined by Matthew Dames and Anna Talbot on a combination of guitar, fiddle, banjolin and bodhran, and they’ll be backed by MRFF’s hardest working double bassist Isaac Gee. If audiences are still allowed to dance at this stage they’ll be kicking off the MRFF party with some rip-roaring Celtic tunes. Otherwise they might play us some laments.

Georgia is a cellist, artist, dancer and teacher, who plays with incredible freedom, expression and intention. Michael is a double bassist who has played in chamber and symphony orchestras all over Australia throughout his career, but who’s focus has become the community’s participation in music, and music’s participation in positive social change. They are both passionate about the power and fun of creative improvisation. They will be joined by Rachel Meyers on fiddle to play for the opening ceremony of the festival. Georgia will also be leading a ‘Moving Connections’ movement workshop, exploring the unknown through improvisation of all kinds, building awareness and creating deeper community.

Rosie and Greg are the festival’s most local performers, being two of the Gowrie Park residents who welcome us to their neighbourhood each Spring. Their bluesy sound is strong and sultry. Many of Rosie’s melodic tales are inspired by real and hard stories, not for the faint hearted. She also sings of the magical mountains and rich colours of the land where they both happily reside, after enthusiastically relocating from Melbourne in 2020.

Daniel is truly one of this island’s bards. He’s created Tasmanians a musical for the Midlands Highway; written powerful poems relating his professional work with at-risk young people; brought us conversations and places from his previous life far away in the Northern Territory; and sung to us simply of love. He’ll be re-envisioning some of these pieces in collaboration with one of our other festival favourites Dave McNamara, on keys and occasional trumpet. Daniel will also be hosting the Poets’ Breakfasts in the mornings.

Mia Palencia launched her luminous writing and singing career in the Malaysian music scene at the age of 14. Two decades, seven albums, and hundreds of concerts and tours later, music is still at the centre of her life. In 2014 she composed her first musical ‘MUD: Our story of KL’, which has gone on to become Malaysia’s longest-running musical ever. In 2017 she wrote the theme song for the South East Asian Games and performed it for a crowd of 87, 000 people. Mia now focuses her passion for songwriting on working with aspiring musicians, teaching Songwriting at UTAS Conservatorium of Music.

Ulverstone blues and jazz duo Jacob Boote and Laura Mead play their beautiful resonator guitars with astonishing agility. They play an eclectic mix of primitive string jazz, western swing and country blues. With Laura playing rhythm guitar, Jacob is able to dive deep into all of the melodies he can imagine. They also sing together, and have a lot of fun.

Formed in July 1941, the Burnie Highland Pipe Band has been serving the people of North West Tasmania for an incredible 80 years. We are absolutely honoured that they’ll be at Gowrie Park with us this year.

Ross is one of Australia’s favourite old-time fiddle-wranglers, and also a prolific Appalachian-style tunesmith. MRFF is excited to be launching his long-awaited album of original tunes “Where’s the Red Chook?” at this year’s festival. Backing Ross on banjo and banjo uke will be the sassy ladies of Up Jumped Trouble, Jackie Gregory and Annette Mundy. Margaret Driscoll will also join them on guitar for the Saturday bushdance at Claude Road Hall.

Tessa Lee is widely known as Devonport’s very own Joni Mitchell (at least to the MRFF committee), with a rare melodic style and freedom in her songwriting. Having spent most of 2020/2021 focussed on developing new songs, Tessa will be bringing a fresh repertoire and energy to Mount Roland. Her music is jazzy and rich, and made even richer by her bandmates Mike Lizotte on bass/vocals and Ian Howard on drums/vocals. This trio promises groove in spades.

Melaleuca, in Port Davey, is author Tony Fenton’s second home. He grew up surrounded by stories of the miners and prospectors of yesteryear, the piners and their lives, the shipwrecks, the sailors and whalers. So his curiosity and fascination for history was piqued, and in 2017 he published his first book ‘Fleeting Hopes’, which tells some of the vast history of human endeavour in the area. Audiences at the festival will hear the remarkable story of the Melaleuca piano, which has endured fires and high seas several times over, and now lives peacefully in the family home (in the middle of the World Heritage area). The piano has the honour of having been composed a piece of music called Bond Bay, which Dave McNamara will play for us.

Kristen Lang lives in the foothills of Mount Roland. She was awarded a PhD in poetry in 2004 and has published four books of poems. In her work, she explores the ways we might learn to again be more inclusive of the more-than-human world. She’ll be leading people on gentle walks in the bush and under the mountains, speaking poetry through the land which inspired it.

Tip Duck tells the story of a mystical bird from a faraway magical place called the mainland. It is an Ibis, but not just any Ibis… it is the world’s first rubbish-collecting I.B.I.S. (International Bin Integration Services).

Tasmania’s favourite theatre company Terrapin is famous for inventing worlds of creative adventure, worlds that pay no heed to the borders of contemporary puppetry. Devised by Felicity Horsley, Marcus McKenzie and Sam Routledge; cast is Bella Young, Felicity Horsley and Noah Casey; and puppet maker Bryony Anderson. Together this team will transport the ageless kids of MRFF to playful places of wonder.

This workshop will take you on a journey to discover ways to weave without using a conventional loom. Using old picture frames, hand spun and hand dyed wools, a variety of natural fibres, reclaimed pieces and foliage that the local forest offers up, Margaret Driscoll will guide you through a session preparing and weaving your way to create an individual piece that can be displayed on your wall or transformed into a usable fabric. No experience is necessary and all materials and equipment will be supplied. Margaret will also have on hand a variety of conventional looms for you to try out.

Sarah is a local Sheffield yoga instructor and has led yoga every morning of the MRFF for the last two years. We’re very happy to have her back again this year; what a good way to start the day.

Nicky Van Dijk and Priya Atom of the UTAS Salsa Dance Society will teach you the basics of swing dancing on the Saturday afternoon at the Claude Road Hall, accompanied live by the sweet swingin’ sounds of Yokel Hokum.

This year’s festival choir will be lead by veteran choir leader Tiffany Eckhart. Tiffany has more than 20 years experience in directing choirs and currently runs Franklin’s Little Boat Choir and Hobart’s Kindred Choir. As well as running the festival choir each morning, she’ll be offering a workshop in choir leading itself, so that MRFF participants can plant community choirs wherever they go.