A Record 180 Acts Headed To The 2017 Illawarra Folk Festival

Next month, a record 180 musical acts from around the world, across Australia and locally will descend on the 32nd annual Illawarra Folk Festival.

The 2017 event, to be staged at the Bulli Showground in Wollongong’s northern suburbs on 12-15 January, will feature 19 international acts including Andy Irvine and Luke Plumb, George & Noriko, Girls With Knives, Kenta Hayashi, The Haywood Billy Goats, The Whitetop Mountaineers and Wallis Bird.

George & Noriko

Perennial festival-favourite funny man Pete Denahy, former Flying Emus singer Genni Kane, Melbourne indie-folk band Tinpan Orange, folk-pop duo Women In Docs and indigenous singer Glenn Skuthorpe head an outstanding Australian line-up of 88 acts from all states, while there will also be 71 local acts representing the best from the Illawarra region.

Tinpan Orange

Festival Artistic Director David De Santi says the 2017 festival programme will follow the Illawarra Folk Festival tradition of having something for everyone. “We have a record number of acts, and people will be able to experience the sounds of traditional folk, Klezmer, gypsy, bluegrass, Middle Eastern, country, roots, parody, dance and poetry.

“With international acts of the calibre of American bluegrass musician Tim O’Brien and Andy Irvine from seminal Irish folk group Planxty, and performers from all over the world, Bulli Showground will be a real, world music mecca for the four days of the festival.”

The banjo is the featured instrument of this year’s festival, while the popular Folk Music School and the Music Train from Sydney will again be features.

Illawarra Folk Festival's International Line-up

Andy Irvine and Luke Plumb (Ire)
Azzband (Italy/Spain)
Christine Collister and Michael Fix (UK)
FourWinds (Ire)
George & Noriko (Japan)
Girls With Knives (Canada)



Gregory Page (USA)
Ken Field's Hoot Band (USA)
Kenta Hayashi (Japan)
Kirsty Bromley (UK)
London Klezmer Quartet (UK)



Tattletale Saints (NZ)
The Haywood Billy Goats (USA)
The Outside Track (Scot)
The Sauerkrauts (Germany)
The Whitetop Mountaineers (USA)



Tim O'Brien (USA)
Wallis Bird (Ire)
Winter Wilson (UK)