Arts / Music
Gordi, Ziggy Ramo, Adalita head stellar BMF line-up
The Brunswick Music Festival will feature 56 shows across 10 days, most of them free
Friday, February 4, 2022
GILPIN Park will again be the focal point of the 34th annual Brunswick Music Festival when it begins next month.
After it was first used as an open air venue last year, Gilpin Park, built on the old brickworks quarry in Albert Street, will host 11 concerts during the 10 day festival that kicks off on March 4.
Among the shows at the park will be a performances by folktronica artist Gordi, indie rock legend Adalita and Indigenous hip hop artist Ziggy Ramo.
By necessity, local artists dominate the program of this year’s festival as international travel quarantine requirements and other restrictions mean few international acts venturing to Australia in the early part of 2022.
The festival managed to go off without a hitch last year, squeezed in between lockdowns, after it had to be cancelled halfway through because of COVID-19 in 2020.
Brunswick Music Festival director Emily Ulman has managed to again curate an exciting and diverse series of events, with almost 60 shows to be held across 25 venues from March 4 to 14. And in keeping with the festival’s ethos, tickets for most of them will be free.
The festival launches on Friday, March 4 with a free show at Gilpin Park featuring Mothafunk, SO.Crates, dj pgz and Harvey Sutherland.
On Saturday afternoon, March 5, the BMF combines with the Port Fairy Folk Festival to present Canada’s Irish Mythen, Pirritu Trio and Alanna and Alicia, while later that night Gordi headlines at Gilpin Park with Folk Bitch Trio supporting.
Festival highlights will include a free First Nations Artists Market alongside the Blak Dot Gallery in Saxon Street on March 6, Adalita and Claire Birchall at Gilpin Park on March 10, HTRK at the same venue on March 11, the launch of Good Morning’s Barnyard album at the Brunswick Ballroom on March 10, and Ziggy Ramo on March 12.
Also worth checking out will be a free showcase of disability in music at Small Time in Albert Street on March 6 featuring Eliza Hull, Gordon Koang and Rudely Interrupted.
The Venues 3056 program returns again taking in venues such as the Retreat Hotel, Bar Oussou, Penny’s Bandroom, Tempo Rubato, The B.East, Howler, Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick Mechanics Institute, The Jazzlab and Noisy Ritual. The festival will also make the most of public and open spaces for free shows and pop ups, including the Counihan Gallery, Sparta Place, Siteworks and Barkly Square.
No tickets for any show will cost more than $20, and more than half of the program is free, including the festival closing concert at Gilpin Park on Labour Day, March 14, featuring Birdz, The Merindas, Chasing Ghosts and Soju Gang.