Ben Lee, Kate Miller-Heidke, Kasey Chambers & More: Woodford Folk Festival Drops Epic Line-up

The upcoming edition of Woodford Folk Festival, held in Woodford, QLD, over six days – the annual dates of 27 December until New Year's Day – has announced its expansive, diverse line-up packed with all your Australian favourites and some newbies to the festival.

Starring Woodford first-timers Ben Lee, performing with his band and as DJ DadBod, Karise Eden and Isaiah Firebrace (of The Voice and X Factor fame, respectively), Regurgitator, Custard, and more, Woodford features the more typical folk-centric artists further down the line-up.

Heading to Queensland over the New Year’s period is a multitude of artists, including Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Steph Strings, Mo’Ju, Yirrmal, FourPlay String Quartet, Leah Flanagan, Odette, Haiku Hands, Bumpy, Aya Ives, Loretta, Late November and Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham (of The Waifs fame), and even more.

As well as its music program, Woodford Folk Festival has lined up an impressive list of speakers and presenters for its Talks and Ideas programme, including Noel Pearson, Linda Burney MP, Leeanne Enoch MP, Lyndon Murphy, Mary Graham and Morgan Brigg, with others also slated to host some essential programs throughout the six-day runtime.

Cultural dance and movement classes are also aligned alongside circus events and fantastical celebrations – Woodford really feels like a town come to life.

“We see the end of the year – Woodford time – as a time for revelling and reckoning, for recreating ourselves and gathering hope and goodwill around us to bring into a new year,” Festival Director, Woodfordia’s Managing Director and Co-Founder Amanda Jackes said in a press release. “We do this, along with our community, by inviting intelligent debate, creating diverse opportunities for reflection, and fuelling brilliant celebration.”

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Jackes added, “Thanks to the support of our patrons, volunteers and our Federal and State governments, the Woodford Folk Festival is the size of a very large town. We love our festival. We hope that love is evident when you look through our programme to decide how you’ll take part at Woodfordia this year.”

Programme Manager Courtney Wild said, “While there are a lot of broadly recognisable names on the programme, as a community-based festival, it’s really important to us that there are lots of opportunities for patrons to interact with artists, presenters and ideas that they can keep up with post-Woodford. We are a folk festival, after all.”

Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch mentioned that Woodford Folk Festival is a “highlight” of Queensland’s cultural calendar, one that showcases “the exceptional work of local, national and international artists and inviting audiences to participate in rich conversations, workshops and ceremonies.”

Enoch continued, “The Queensland Government supports Woodfordia to realise the key priorities of our Creative Together 2020-2030 roadmap, including elevating First Nations arts, sharing our stories and celebrating our storytellers, and activating local spaces and places."

“Events like the Woodford Folk Festival reinforce Queensland’s reputation as a cultural tourism destination, generating positive social and economic outcomes and showcasing our unique arts, cultures and stories as we look to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games when our cultural identity will be celebrated on the global stage.”

You can buy tickets and check out the complete Woodford Folk Festival program here.