Country connection: Shepparton double bass player Judi Chapman has been attending the Girgarre Moosic Muster for many years and was involved in the impromptu “out of the hat” concert, which involved 20 groups, on Friday afternoon.
Concert debutante: For Melton double bass player Mark Russell his first experience at the Girgarre Moosic Muster was enough to ensure his return in 2024. He was involved in the “out of the hat’’ concert where musicians were randomly grouped together and had an hour to learn a song and perform it in front of a packed Girgarre hall.
Just another face in the crowd: Bendigo musician, Voksy, turned many heads at the Girgarre festival. Wearing his fox costume for a bulk of the music event, he brought a smile to many faces for the five days. He explained the story behind the outfit to Ky Free Press editor Rohan Aldous, telling how he had legally changed his name to Voksy after adopting the persona for his public appearances. “Many years back I suffered a traumatic incident and a toy arrived in a box two weeks after. I developed a strong emotional connection to the animal, because the incident erased a lot of my memory. I've been playing the guitar for a long time, but I put it to one side after the incident. Music for PTSD is one of the best therapies and I'm very open with people about what I've been through. I survived something which almost erased me from the planet and I find people get a good kick out of the costume. It makes me happy and I share that joy with people,” Voksy said.
Lead guitar: Alan Barber from Ocean Grove looks for direction from his “out of the hat’’ concert leader during an entertaining component of the muster that brought together more than 100 of musicians.
Go home little fishies: Alan Blyth from Tootgarook (on the Mornington Peninsula) explained the story behind his song choice. “I was in an ‘out of the hat’ band in 2018 with a man called Ed Mahon. We had a little concert in the hall and we sang his song, Little Fishy. He gave me the words and music of the song, but he died four weeks after the festival. This was a tribute to him,” Alan said.
Banjo man: Paul Macneish from Kerang is a regular at the moosic muster. The five-day event attracted hundreds of people to workshops, concerts, poetry recitals, Sunday morning gospel singing and choir performances, which filled the small community with melodic sounds for almost a week.
13°C