Australia, 1950’s. The radical cultural nationalists in Australia have gathered and promoted what they think is Australian folk music. For example, in 1953 the music Reedy River borrowed songs from the late nineteenth century and Henry Lawson’s poem to tell about the strike of an Australian coal miner in 1891. This includes Helen Palmer’s Ballad in 1891. The footprints say, “When they jail a man for striking it’s a rich man’s country yet”.
Slowly, folk music in Australia graduated from this passion. There had been a surge in activity from various places from coffee lounges to serious folk venues and rock bands in mobile. For what is the real meaning of the folk song in Australia? To best define folk music, we have to look at three varying ideologies from the nationalist, the radical populist, and the true genuine performer.
The first ideology is rooted from Johann Herder (German writer/philosopher) from which he said that the soul of the nation could be found in the many songs of the peasants. Folk music could genuinely be described as the voice of the people without the corruption of the many capitalists in the nation. Music has indeed made a lot of significance in every nation. It has the power to communicate and dig deep into the soul of the oppressed. And the wisdom to educate and heal the rebellious heart.
Bringing Australian Folk Songs Together In Festivals To The Future
Rooting from the surge of activities in various places in Australia is the start of music festivals featuring Australian Folk Music. Inspired by the famous Newport Festival in the United States, festivals began in the 1960s and became increasingly important in the 1970s. Today, there are sizeable festivals going on such as Port Fairy and Woodford, as well as a series of small local festivals.
Modern folk festivals offer a variety of music, from traditional performing artists and national community organizations to contemporary folklore performances. All of which utilize services such as Melbourne speaker hire to better their performances. Most music overlaps with various other festivals, but folk festivals are defined by community effort and participation. Celebrity-led seminars and master classes are common, and volunteers often help with festivals.
The idea of folk continues to persist because there is a deep history rooting from Western culture. Music expression is different and varies from national pop music history. New England folk have an inseparable relationship with British popular music and traditional folk music. American bands like Fleet Foxes got a lot of inspiration from the Beachboys and Appalachia. Practically, all of these musicians have drawn inspiration from many folks music and more and more of these artists are slowly acknowledging it.