Granite Town this Saturday in Moruya - made for and by music lovers

Step outside your regular playlist and find your new favourite artist this Saturday at Moruya’s Granite Town music festival.

For the fifth year in a row this community-run, not-for-profit, massive day of music is out to surprise your ears with a cool mix of Soul, Funk, Blues and Roots.

“In 2016 solo artist Tash Sultana was a favourite for me,” says Toby Whitelaw from the Granite Town committee.

“She played a dizzying amount of instruments and foot pedals, I remember thinking ‘you are a flipping genius’.

“And then there was last year when ‘Kooyeh‘ a young reggae band very few people had heard of had the whole crowd dancing to the nicest vibe,” Toby remembers.

Organisers go out of their way to bring new and emerging national and international acts to a regional stage.

“Granite Town reminds me a little of going to Byron Bay Blues Fest in the 1990’s, amazing acts, not too crowded, surrounded by friendly music fans,” Toby says.

“We are mindful of hanging on to the old-fashioned, country simplicity and charm that I think the mega-festivals these days have lost.

“A team of music lovers pulls this together each year, there’s a lot of research involved in putting the line-up together, thankfully the live music scene is pumping and there is plenty of great talent to choose from.

“We love emerging talents, booking Tash Sultana in 2016 is a great example, not well known locally at the time, and now world famous!

“This year I am really looking forward to The Bamboos and Caiti Baker, but it’s often some of the lesser known acts I get into the most, this year I reckon it will be Thunder Fox, a young Sydney funk band who ought to absolutely rock the party,” Toby says.

As an evolution of the long-running Moruya Jazz Festival, Granite Town looks for a level of musicianship in all the acts booked.

“Music that has evolved from Jazz, like Soul, Funk, Blues and Roots, we are looking for real instruments, real brass sections, and real people, and it’s got to be fun,” he says.

Delighting the local community is a big motivation for organisers but so too is providing people from outside of the region with a unique experience.

“We hope that as word gets out more visitors from Canberra and other cities will make the trip to the Eurobodalla especially for Granite Town, which obviously helps our local economy, Toby says.

“Apart from the music, Moruya and surrounds offers so much this weekend.

“Our festival site at Moruya Racecourse is on the northern side of the Moruya River, near the airport, along the way you can learn about the town’s granite quarrying history and connection to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and some of Sydney’s grandest, oldest stone buildings, a quick stop at Quarry Park on the Moruya River will give you the back story.

“Broulee is not far away, take a walk around Broulee Island, and keep an eye out for Humpback Whales, pop into Broulee’s Single Fin Gypsy Canteen for a coffee, or ride your bike along the fantastic track between Broulee and Moruya Airport.

“The Moruya Country Markets are on Saturday morning at Riverside Park.

“While you are in town I’d recommend a pastry from French bakery ‘Le Gourmandises’, Toby says.

Everyone is welcome at Granite Town this Saturday, a huge day of entertainment is planned, in a family-friendly environment, kids under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult, and youth tickets are $45 to 50.

“We will also have a kids activities program during the day, last year there were little kids running about with kites they had made themselves, which added to the atmosphere,” Toby says.

“The festival site has a wonderful atmosphere of its own, very ‘South Coast’, with a big sky surrounded by forest right behind the beach.”

Granite Town is fully licensed and boasting fresh brews from Capital Brewing and Batlow Cider Company, plus there’ll be a wonderful range of food stalls, including pizza, Thai, oysters, Indonesian, and more.

Online ticket sales end Friday – save yourself some money and time at the gate and book now.

Check the Granite Town website for everything else you need to know.