Mike McClellan at The Basement

Zebra Crossing

MUSICFEST PHILLIP ISLAND, a day of folk-roots-blues acoustic music is coming to PHILLIP ISLAND WINERY on Sunday 11th March, Labour Day long-weekend.

Check the website at www.musicfestphillipisland.com.au

With a 10-hour line-up of national and local acts from an all-weather stage in our beautiful grounds, and finishing with a BUSH DANCE under the stars, this is an event not to be missed.

Ticket sales are now open; you can buy tickets at:

• www.musicfestphillipisland.com.au

• or call (03) 5956 8465

The artist LINE-UP includes:

• Country music legend MIKE McCLELLAN,
• Pop-folk sensations THE LITTLE STEVIES,
• Singer-songwriter and multi-ARIA nominated LISA MILLER,
• Australian ukulele master AJ LEONARD’S TROPICAL LOUNGE,
• Former Redgum frontman HUGH McDONALD,
• Southern bluesmen TABASCO TOM and DOC WHITE,
• The African rhythms of Zebra Crossing with VALANGA KHOZA, RAY PEREIRA and LEO DALE,
• Local powerhouse vocalist BERN CARROLL,
• Former Byron Bay singer-songwriter JACQUI STERLING,
• With more to come…
• And with PARADIDDLE BUSH BAND to finish the night with a BUSH DANCE under the stars.

Overlooking Bass Strait, on Phillip Island’s beautiful southern coastline, and only a stone’s throw from Pyramid Rock and the Penguin Parade, music begins at 12:30pm with continuous acts through the afternoon and evening, concluding at 10:00pm.

MUSICFEST PHILLIP ISLAND is a regional umbrella event under the 2012 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, concert patrons can also choose a fine-cuts enviromeat meal, three courses plus a complimentary glass of Phillip Island Winery’s finest, enjoyed from a ‘long-barbecue’ marquee right in the thick of the action.

Tickets are on sale now, numbers are limited, click on the link to BUY TICKETS.

Concert tickets: $40

Concert plus fine-cuts enviromeat meal: $80

CELESTE by John Abery. Medium: wood

COINCIDING WITH MUSICFEST, Phillip Island Winery is pleased to announce the opening of an exciting sculpture exhibition, SCULPTURE CULTURE, Food and Wine, to be staged at the winery from 4th March until 10th April (Easter Tuesday).

Featuring sculptural works by leading and emerging Victorian artists, the pieces - in ferro-cement, bronze, glass, polished aluminium, wood and steel – will be on display around Phillip Island Winery’s grounds and cellar door. With Bass Strait as a backdrop, and sweeping rural views, it is the perfect environment for these dramatic sculptural works.

Artists whose works will be featured include JOHN ABERY, SIAN ADNAM, HELEN BRISTOL, PAUL HEARNSHAW, BOB HICKMAN, NICOLA HOYLE, PAUL JESSE, ANDREW KASPER, MARTIN KEOGH, HELEN McINNES, MARGARET McPHERSON, ANGELA NEWBERRY, FATEMEH VAFAEINEJAD, and TREVOR WHEELER.

This stunning exhibition is part of a cultural feast over the month of March at Phillip Island Winery, conducted as a regional umbrella event under the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

On days other than Sunday 11th March when the grounds will be jumping to the sounds of MusicFest Phillip Island, admission to the sculpture exhibition will be free.

All works are available for purchase. Watch this site for more details and images.

Tom, Broderick Smith and the Doc

THE GROUNDS of the cellar door rocked on Australia Day weekend to the classy southern blues of Phillip Island Winery regulars, Tabasco Tom, Doc White and Cres Crisp.

Taking advantage of the beautiful evening and our large undercover courtyard, Tom and the Doc had more than 100 guests tapping along to the irresistible beat and tight harmonies of Louisianna blues and swing.

Tom and Doc, and joined by Australian music legend Broderick Smith, will be playing at MusicFest Phillip Island at the winery on Sunday March 11th.

For tickets, go to www.musicfestphillipisland.com.au  or call us on 5956 8465.

POP-FOLK SENSATIONS, The Little Stevies, are performing at Phillip Island Winery this coming Wednesday 11th January at 7:30pm.

With catchy pop melodies, and tight harmonies, the internationally-recognised Little Stevies have a string of ‘indie’ hits to their credit, including Accidentally, and Come to Miss You.

They were were a sensation at Port Fairy Music Festival in 2011 and have toured the US and Canada to wide acclaim, recording in LA and appearing at New York’s CMJ and Ottawa’s OCFF music conferences.

With a breezy style reflecting a long line of great Australian ‘Alt-pop acts’ such as Frente, Ben Lee and Dan Kelly, they have stunned audiences everywhere with their delicious harmonies, musicianship and catchy and accessible songs.

The Little Stevies now have a string of successful albums behind them; their latest, Attention Shoppers, was recorded in LA with producer Ethan Allen.

Cost of entry to The Little Stevies is $10. Light platter meals, delicious Phillip Island Wines and soft-drinks are available.

The Little Stevies are also a feature act at MUSICFEST Phillip Island (www.musicfestphillipisland.com.au), to be staged at Phillip Island Winery on Sunday March 11 (the long weekend).

They’ll be joined by a mighty line-up of roots and acoustic music acts like Mike McClellan, Lisa Miller, Hugh McDonald and many more – with an old time bush dance with Paradiddle to finish off the night.

Phillip Island Winery

414 Berrys Beach Road

Ventnor

ph: 5956 8465

www.phillipislandwines.com.au

Now into its second week and with a short five night season, Phillip Island’s Offshore Theatre is staging Neil Simon’s classic comedy, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, as a radio play at the cellar door.

Directed by Stephanie Daniel, Last of the Red Hot Lovers is a very funny set-piece from the swinging ’60s. It follows the exploits of Barney Cashman, who wants to join the sexual revolution but fails hilariously in seduction with Elaine, a sexpot, Bobbi, an actress, and his wife’s best friend, Jeanette.

We began the radio-play series last summer with Noel Coward’s comedy, Blithe Spirit. It was huge fun. It’s like the old days of the ABC when audiences would flock to Gordon Street to see actors playing their parts into a microphone.

It is now sold out for all nights, but we are looking at a return season at the end of the month. If we can arrange it with the actors, tickets will again be $30, which includes a light platter meal.

Splitting the play dates, pop-folk sensations The Little Stevies are performing at the winery this Wednesday 11th January at 7:30pm.

With catchy pop melodies, and tight harmonies, the internationally-recognised Little Stevies have a string of ‘indie’ hits to their credit, including Accidentally, and Come to Miss You. Cost of entry to The Little Stevies is $10.

Willam Topaz McGonagall of Dundee, was widely celebrated during his lifetime as a writer of awful verse and terrible rhymes – “the worst poet in the English language”.

McGonagall, a sketch by Pip Cleeland

He died in 1902; the tribute night at the winery is a week shy of the 109^th anniversary of his death.

His straight-faced performances of his  verse made him a celebrated performer at music-halls in 19th-Century Victorian England, and his reputation has endured. His most famous piece is his doggeral account of the Scot tragedy, The Tay Bridge Disaster.

Mike Cleeland, whose amusing book of poetry and bush verse, Sheep Dip, illustrated by his wife Pip, is now on many Phillip Island bookshelves, will be joined by musician Paul Madigan from French Island, local musician Gary Marr, and visiting bard, playwright, and former member of Paradiddle Bush Band, Mark Leehy.

Admission is free, light platter meals are available.

Music and ballads begin at 7:00pm; come along in your tartan to add some fun and character to the night.

Bookings available, call us on 5956 8465.

VIVACE, Phillip Island’s own ‘a cappella’ madrigal group, lifted the roof at the Phillip Island Winery’s cellar door in the third of our springtime Twilight Concerts.

Under the direction of arranger Ross Fairhurst, VIVACE performed a magical mix of medieval and modern classics. 

The 16th century Latin ’Gaudete’ bookended a three-set performance of madrigal standards, some ribald ‘Chaucerian-style’ English and Scot folk-songs, a Gaelic blessing, and some latter day classics that even included Redgum’s rousing ‘Poor Ned Kelly’ (written by Trevor Lucas).    

With a full house, and then some, the surreal colours of a stormy sky over a twilight sea provided the perfect ‘other-world’ backdrop for VIVACE’s swelling choral harmonies and tight professional performance.

We’re constantly surprised by the depth of talent and by the diverse music and creative arts we find on Phillip Island.

 

Ross Fairhurst 'in the moment'

We’re also very pleased to have the opportunity to showcase local performers like VIVACE alongside the eclectic mix of visiting artists we bring to the winery.

Our thanks to Ross and VIVACE for a memorable evening of music.

Watch out for our next Twilight Concert series.

We’ve got a night of balladeers with Mike Cleeland coming up – a tribute to The Great McGonagall; acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. 

On September 30 and October 1, two nights or repertory featuring three well-known professional actors (one an ‘Islander’), and also bluesmen Tabasco Tom and Doc White returning soon.

If you’d like to know more about William McGonagall, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGonagall

The third in the Phillip Island Winery’s Twilight Concert series, VIVACE will be presenting a repertoire of film classics with a mix of medieval and madrigal standards. Lead by Ross Fairhurst, VIVACE brings a completely different style of performance to the winery.

This is a musical performance you will never see in a hotel or typical music venue (that’s why we like to put on events like this).

Last Saturday, more than 80 patrons crammed into the cellar door to enjoy the classy southern-blues sounds of Tabasco Tom and Doc White.

They were backed up by Steve Williams on sax and harmonica (Steve has been a member of the John Farnham band since 1990), and also by Tom’s astonishing 16 year-old daughter Kaitlin on fiddle and vocal harmonies. It was a memorable night, one ‘out of the box’. (Tabasco Tom and Doc White are returning to the winery soon, watch the site for details and dates.)

Light dinners are available including a Ploughman’s platter of fresh-sliced meats, local cheeses and crusty breads, plus the usual delicious fare of cheese platters, dips, fresh salads and smoked trout. 

Admission free; bookings accepted. Phone: 5956 8465. 

Come and see us and relax with VIVACE  - or join in if you like. Don’t forget we also have LIVE ACOUSTIC music on every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

The feature piece is the comic script Capital Gains, written by UK writer Collin Johnson (born in London of Australian parents) who, as it happens, studied at the same drama school as Stephanie Daniel. Johnson is a regular writer for BBC radio and has been nominated for both the Prix Italia and the Writer’s Guild Comedy Award.

David Treddinick’s voice will be familar to ABC radio national listeners. His TV appearances include Bastard Boys, Something In The Air, Blue Heelers, Halifax f.p. as well as playing Simon in The Secret Life Of Us.

Stanley McGeagh, who began his career in Ireland before working in British repertory and West End theatre (including with Lauren Bacall, Diana Rigg and Keith Michell), has also appeared in Dr Who, The Bill, and The Onedin Line as well as in Australian TV on Frontline, Halifax f.p. and Pozieres.

Stephanie Daniel is well-known to Phillip Islanders. Now regularly directing for Offshore Theatre, Stephanie has appeared in numerous TV shows, theatre and films including including Neighbours, Halifax f.p., Something in the Air; and the classic Australian film comedy, The Castle. 

This will be two nights of super ‘radio theatre’ entertainment. We’re pleased to have the opportunity to present professional actors up-close and personal in the cellar door with entertaining evenings like this. And, outside of La Mama, where else can you find this type of professional and personal performance?

Bookings essential. $30 admission, for which we also provide a light platter meal. It’s another ‘Twilight Concert’, so best to arrive by 6:30pm.