Woodfordia Inc, Media Release, 12 December 2025

Woodfordia’s Festival of Small Halls has announced that Irish/Canadian powerhouse Irish Mythen and Australian folk troubadour Kaurna Cronin will feature on their next tour in March 2026, which takes in 13 regional Victorian towns while also visiting the magnificent Port Fairy Folk Festival.

Now regarded as the benchmark for rural and regional touring, and presented by veteran festival producers Woodfordia Inc, the 48th edition of the not-for-profit music tour is meandering from Foster through to Thule (NSW) as the Autumn leaves start their descent to the earth and the winds blow colder.

Country halls have huge histories and multiple uses in modern life. Once the only spot in town for dances, balls, weddings, funerals, and sometimes enjoying a second innings after life as a railway station, Cobb & Co stop or manor house, these spaces are still central to community life, hosting meetings, classes, workshops and shows. Within the Festival of Small Halls model, each community invites the tour to stop with them, often also hosting a community meal, BBQ, or cake spread, and other events alongside the concerts to make the night special.

Famous for their larger-than-life folk festivals over the last two decades, Woodfordia are honoured to collaborate with community producers to present a more intimate, but no less exciting lineup with Mythen and Cronin.

Irish Mythen is no stranger to Australian audiences. They’ve played multiple Byron Bay Blues Festivals, and just about every major folk festival in the country. Their latest release, Little Bones, gained them recognition around the globe, including a 2020 JUNO nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, seven Music PEI 2020 nominations and two wins — Touring Artist of the Year and Roots Contemporary Recording of the Year, and a Canadian Folk Music win for Solo Artist of the Year. Write-ups in Australian Guitar Magazine, Rollingstone and a plethora of other print and online media worldwide have helped plant Irish firmly on the map of must-see artists. Irish’s live performances are a thing of raw power, emotion and a connection with her audience that just has to be seen to be believed.

Kaurna Cronin is an Australian folk-rock wanderer whose songs hold a mirror to the human condition. Raised in a beat-up van by a clown and a textile artist, he learned early that the world is messy, magical and full of stories worth singing. Now, after 15 years of roaming festivals, theatres and backroad stages across Europe and Australia, Cronin has released Jester In A Mess — an album steeped in poetic warmth, fatherhood, memory and the strange, beautiful chaos of creative life. A previous recipient of Folk Alliance Australia’s Artist of the Year and a two-time Australian Folk Music Awards nominee, Cronin writes with cinematic charm and a playful, observant eye. His music is steeped in curiosity for the human condition, and his love for song lies in the way it reaches people when and where they need it most.

“I’m so looking forward to being back on the road in Australia,” says Kaurna.

“I grew up traversing the country in my parents’ beat-up yellow Toyota Hiace top-top van, so I’m excited be out on those roads again, and sharing songs with the Small Halls tour.”

Irish’s first Australian shows were with Festival of Small Halls in 2015, when she toured Queensland with Starboard Cannons.

“This will be my 10 year anniversary of Small Halls Australia and I cannot put into words how words just how bloody stoked I am to be back.” says Irish.

“This magical country, these incredible audiences – they just give me life, and every single day is an adventure. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to head back out on the road! Bring it on!”

“Port Fairy Folk Festival have partnered with us since the early days of Festival of Small Halls,’ says Chloe Goodyear, who works with Woodfordia’s programme team.

“We are extremely grateful for the goodwill and trust that they show us, and the incredible roster of international and local talent that they present each year, our Halls artists included. They are one of Australia’s eminent events for a reason.”

Festival of Small Halls Autumn Tour 2026 starts on the 27th of February at the Foster War Memorial Arts Centre before continuing on to 12 communities across Victoria, finishing in New South Wales at Thule’s Caldwell Hall on March 22.

Tickets on sale from 15th December at www.festivalofsmallhalls.com.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. 

Woodfordia Inc presents
Festival Of Small Halls Autumn Tour 2026
Irish Mythen (IRE/CAN) and Kaurna Cronin