Castlemaine Jazz Festival: The Wrap 2016

Another year, and the wheels haven’t fallen off… far from it, this year’s Festival was the biggest yet, with around 350 musicians, 100 long suffering partners, new venues, food stalls, steam trains, a singing Mayor (I kid you not) and an enthusiastic crowd, maybe a little bigger than last year, creating a real buzz around town. The weather was as cold as a mother in laws kiss, but it didn’t seem to matter, even the outdoor performances were fun.

Feedback was better, I think, than previous years, and the standard of music was higher than ever. I mention this because apparently some people think that musical excellence is what the Festival should be about. Meh, whatever.. we all had a bunch of fun, met old and new faces, and saw some great sessions – for me, Low Down Big Band, and Open For Inspection were the highlights, the Faulder Watson Hall a better venue than we dared hope; and Campbells Creek Community Centre, another new one, rocked all weekend.

A big thankyou from the Committee to all the Jammers who got involved – musicians, volunteers, audience, the indefatigable Trevor terrorising the Calder with a truckload of gear, Ruby Rogers’ alter ego doing all the graphics, Steve setting up drums, the ageing Curtis in full nerd mode on the programme, – love all ya work!