EXCLUSIVE: New Sydney Folk Festival Planned For September

The inaugural Sydney Folk Festival will take place this September according to emerging promoter Zanda Strofield.

Behind this weekend's underage Live It Up punk-focused festival in Brisbane, 28-year-old Strofield has told theMusic.com.au that the new one day event will be held in the city CBD and be accessible to families.

“We have just locked the inaugural Sydney Folk Festival which will be coming in September,” he said. “It's something that I'm really excited about. I was involved with Brisbane's Red Deer Music Festival last year and we know that there's a huge demand there for discerning music listeners.

“There's great events like Bluesfest and the like but what we want to do is bring the concept of a folk festival and put it in the city. We want to bring a top quality line-up and make a one-day event that's going to be accessible to families… give people the opportunity to take a one-day holiday out of their busy lives to get back to their roots, soak in some amazing music, food and a vibe that we're confident is going to be really special.”

With the first full announcement to be released in May, Strofield said that Sydney would benefit from a festival like the one he's planning.

“Sydney I think is the kind of city that could do with an oasis in the calendar to give people a chance to chill out. The idea of something right in the centre of the city, but with a folk vibe will resonate with people there. Sydney loves its food, its music and its culture and I don't think it gets enough credit for that.”

The festival will be based on his experiences from Brisbane's Red Deer Festival – also happening in September – and aimed a similarly young age group.

Live It Up will take place tomorrow at the RNA Showgrounds and Strofield said that the response to the under 18 event has “exceeded expectations”.

“[It] has really proven to us that there's a real need for quality entertainment for under 18s. It's hard to say whether it's growing or whether the demand has always been there but just been unmet. For us, putting together an event that really targeted a wide variety of under 18s was important.”

He added, “Working with the trends of what's happening on the ground is really exciting… There's assholes and sharks like I guess there is in any industry, but on the whole I find if you have your bullshit detector working well and stick to your own principles, there's some great people around. If you try to find a niche and focus on something that nobody else is doing rather than trying to cut other people's throats, it's a pretty pleasant space to work in I find.”

Last minute tickets to Live It Up will be available on the door tomorrow.