Our first Woolstock!

Woolstock – a private music festival held each year on our farm. It started in 1996, when one of our neighbours (Wooly) left the big smoke and moved to the country. He had played in bands in Sydney, and missed it when he left, so started the annual “Woolstock”. A bunch of bands and musos get together over a weekend each March, and play great music for the whole weekend. They have a percussion frenzy at sunset, where all those present farewell the days light in a crescendo of sound.

This was our first Woolstock. We hired a caravan from work, and drove up to the farm on the Friday evening. By the time we arrived, they were wrapping up the rehearsals, and settling in to a beer around the fire.

Our home away from home, with my outdoor kitchen!

On Saturday morning, MacK and I took a walk down to the farm to give Jane a sleep in, and then we breakfasted with everybody who had come early. There were tents and caravans all over the home blocks, and the set up of the stage area was brilliant. It was set up on our house block, where it has been for the last couple of years, and even had the ‘Bohemian Chai Lounge’, where we served food on Saturday evening.

One Bohemian Chai Lounge, sans Bohemians...

There is a real focus on children, and there was a massive sandpit set up for kids to play in. Our contribution to the meal for the evening was a big pot of baked beans, with smoked ham hock. Other offerings included a beautiful chicken cacciatore, mushroom curry, popcorn and chai.

MacK in the sand...

The music started at about 5:00pm with a 15 year old guitarist/vocalist who has played the last couple of years. He was a great talent, but only the start for the evening. The theme for the evening was Elvis, and there were plenty of lookalikes – some better than others!!!

For me, the standout act for the night was Veronica. She was a WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms) on the farm a couple of months ago, and has an incredible voice. Last year, Jane and I had the pleasure and privilege of attending one of Leonard Cohen’s last ever concerts. Cohen is one of my favourite artists, and Veronica sang one of his signature tunes – Hallelujah. I love the original, but her rendition was every bit as good.

MacK ready for a percussion frenzy

MacK, Ljuba and I enjoying the show. At this point I think we were in France (with our red wine), having started with a very local fizz and a wine from Orange. Good night had by all! 

We had about 150 people camping out on the farm, and the music finished up at about 2:30 am. We had heard about Woolstock over the last couple of years, and were at risk of having built up the festival to unrealistic levels. As it turned out, it was one of the most enjoyable nights we have had. The festival was brilliant, and will definitely be on our must do list for years into the future.

As a footnote, I got to tick another item off my bucket list, in that I got to participate in a wine crush. Sam from Rosnay wines had a tonne of grapes that he is turning into a ‘garage wine’. I got to shift all the grapes, and had a great morning!