Stephen Cranby, Tarrangower Times
What is Roo Fest? Both Donna [Publican] and Mandy Connell [Organiser] agree. Roo Fest is about bringing artists together from around this region of Victoria to provide a venue for musicians who haven’t necessarily been heard or been up this way before.
Importantly, it’s a way to give something to the Maldon community. A day of music, somewhere to come and enjoy, sit down, have a drink, meet new people, and catch up with old friends. ‘The real goal is for the venue to develop an audience and build a community of music lovers’.
This is the seventh Roo Fest held at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon over the last two years. Previous events have had attendances varying from 70 to as many as 220 people in the Beer Garden, where the Hotel also provides BBQ catering throughout the event.
Roo Fest arose in response to the impact of Covid restrictions, where many activities and premises were closed or cancelled, and people became invisible. In response as the lifting of Covid restrictions came about, Donna and Mandy developed the concept of an outdoor event, the Roo Fest.
Donna, the lessee and self-appointed ‘custodian’ of the Kangaroo Hotel, juggles the roles of manager, owner, chef and go-to person [aka, general dogsbody]. After working in hotels and managing events in England, she spent time as a prison officer in Victorian female prisons finishing up at Langi Kal Kal, near Beaufort.
It was during this time she had her first interactions with Maldon. When the opportunity to lease the Kangaroo Hotel arose, she jumped at it.
Though her move to Maldon might seem accidental, she hasn’t looked back and is glad she did. Taking over the lease two weeks before Covid arrived was a long and hard initiation, but as Donna puts it, “The community has been amazing, and that’s why I guess I have fallen in love with the place”.
Mandy Connell is a singer, songwriter and performer with 20 years of experience. She knows a lot of musicians from her travels and has been lucky enough to discover quite a few who live locally.
Her aim is to try to call on, locate and encourage local artists to perform at each Roo Fest. She uses a mixture of mostly folk and roots artists because Maldon already has a modern folk festival here and a strong community backing for this kind of music.
This seventh Roo Fest included a range of Performers:
Brent James Turner: After a break from the live music scene for about 10 years he has just started getting back into it after lockdown playing a number of shows and Blues and Roots festivals since.
Graham Fletcher: Began playing at 15 and, with some breaks, has played in various bands across Australia and America. He moved to Maldon four years ago and has since been playing around the traps locally.
Mandy Connell: Roo Fest organiser and singer, songwriter, and performer with 20 years experience.
Sophisticated Hulas: Betty France and Cate Jardine met at the Melbourne ukulele collective around 10 years ago. They started singing together and began writing their own songs in the last four years. Juggling banjo, guitar, and mandolin, they have a lot of fun just getting together to play music that is quite unique and hard to pigeonhole.
The Bill Barber Trio: A blues-rock trio with 10-12 years of individual experience who have been together for 12 months. Their members come from both Bendigo and Melbourne and play and perform all over the state.
Though poor weather forecasts on the day may have inhibited numbers, the audience for this, the seventh Roo Fest was engaged, responsive and appreciative of the performances.
In particular, Penelope Swales and Jack Spira, who ‘came all the way from Gippsland to attend Roo Fest attracted by the very fine performers, especially the Sophisticated Hulas.’ An event not to be missed. Watch out for the next one and mark it on your calendar as a must do!
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 18 November 2022.
