Boots & Roots Festival

As I write this, the third day of the inaugural Kyneton Boots & Roots Music Festival is dawning. Terry Moore, and a dedicated team of technicians and supporters who are the inspiration behind this event, has seeded a truly magical weekend. 

There has been a low-key and contained lead-up, with humble chalk promotion on footpaths. The short and succinct flyer - listing a program that is deceptively rich and varied - landed only recently on shop counters, so loads of people could be forgiven for missing out. They will hear about it.  

Even in the rain, drizzle and cold, people are out and about moving around town - frequenting the hotels and churches, as well as sitting in the newly-refurbished Mechanic's Institute avidly listening in to some fantastic musical offerings from an astounding variety of performers.

My highlights have been the welcoming sense of community in all the venues I attended and the amazing musician-ship of Jimmy O'Hare, the youthful focused integrity of He-Brides, along with venturing into the Newmarket Hotel to listen to Simon & Robfunkle. But what really 'blew me away' was watching and listening to Kutcha Edwards, Cyndi Boste, Adam Brentnall, Brett Kelly and Geoffrey Williams inspire, support, encourage and back, a group of amazing young people as they presented the work they created in a song-writing workshop. Very solid!

This festival is an event that is truly engaging, moving and enlivening audience and performers alike. If my limited foray around town to several gigs is any example, many of us will be talking about the essence and integrity of what we are experiencing for months to come. Surely word of mouth will tend the growth, in coming years, of this rich, promising, well-planted community event.

Kyneton Boots & Roots Music Festival, Friday 2 March to Sunday 4 March. 30 local artists. 13 venues. All free.