Live Music
What's better than an artist play live music? How about multiple amazing artists!
We have brilliant musicians joining us this year and will be playing right across the day. So get your dancing shoes on and your best singalong voice and get ready to groove!
The Albany Shantymen
Albany Shantymen formed in 2016 after Gary “Grizz” Greenwald moved to Albany and sought out his local shanty singing group, only to find there was none. So he set about plying unsuspecting blokes with beer and bar snacks until he had formed a core shanty crew.
Out of the blue, The Albany Shantymen shot to fame when Scottish postman Nathan Evans heard their rendition of the maritime classic, The Wellerman, and covered it on social media platform TikTok. To the unassuming Scot’s surprise, his cover went viral, resulting in coverage by Rolling Stone magazine. The Albany Shantymen were given a mention in the star-making mag and so began the folk and shanty group’s rise to fame, with calls coming in from all over Western Australia and beyond for their unique brand of feel-good music.
The group expanded quickly to 15 members on the premise of good mates gathering weekly to indulge in a rousing singalong with a beer in hand. The casual act grew in popularity, with local audiences enjoying the relaxed performances where singing and foot-tapping along is not only encouraged, it’d be rude not to!
Rusty & Marco
Russell (Rusty) plays old time American, Irish, French, Italian and other fiddle music. There are a lot of lively dance music and some nice waltzes to balance the energy levels. From country music festivals, agricultural shows, fetes, market days, beer, wine and food fairs, country dances to a night in the café, he is comfortable in a busking setting and a wandering minstrel at any event. He also collaborates to provide music for regular dances in the Perth hills region.
La Rochelle
With a voice like honey and a wide vocal range, a deep appreciation for music and storytelling through lyrics has enabled Rochelle to develop an extensive repertoire and adaptable performance. Rochelle has been performing across Western Australia for the past 15 years, in various groups including a duo, a cabaret group, accompanied by a 12 piece band, and with community choirs.
Manjimup Music Makers
Manjimup Music Makers began with a small group of eight adults in 2018 and has now grown to twenty-eight. It mostly consists of ukulele players, but we also have two on guitar, one on the mandolin and three on a variety of percussion instruments. This variety in instruments along with a mix of male and female voices creates a wonderful texture to our sound. The ukulele is such a fun and easy-to-play instrument with most of our uke players having learnt only when they joined the group. Our youngest member is 47 while our most senior musician is 87 proving that age is certainly not a barrier when it comes to creating and enjoying music. Manjimup Music Makers get together every Thursday evening to play and sing and we have a HUGE repertoire of songs. Our constantly growing group has such a happy and positive time together. We've all made lots of new friends and absolutely LOVE being asked to perform at local community events.
Steve Vidovich
Steve Vidovich is a talented local musician known for his live performances and his ability to connect with audiences through his music.
Montanah Mayors
The Piano Stage
Musical background on Diana Lea
Whether it's through listening, creating, or sharing, music allows us to express love in ways that touch the heart and soul. Music reminds us of our shared humanity and universal longing to feel understood and loved. It is, in every sense, the sound of connection. Di very much brought this love, connection and delight of music to Manjimup.
Diana, or Di as she was known by her friends, had a wide-ranging musical background as an enthusiastic musician and music lover with a passion for all its multiple and diverse forms and styles be it classical, modern, folk or traditional. She went wherever her students wanted to go to learn the notes! Although Di trained as and had a nursing background, really, she came to see her life in terms of her love of music. Di grew up on a Northcliffe farm, married Jeremy and arrived in Manjimup with Jeremy working at the local cannery and Di utilizing her nursing career including teaching antenatal classes with a wonderful barrage of other health professionals.
Di was an accomplished musician with a wide range of instruments in her repertoire: piano, guitar, tin whistle, ocarina, mandolin, Appellation harp, jews harp, harmonica. Through her many years as a musician, music teacher to a multitude of local children and adults, assisting local rep club, choir master of local a Capella choir, Di was a true musicophile and felt that the beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you—and music is one of the most beautiful ways to learn.
Di was also instrumental in many decades of subscribing and attending classical music concerts with a group of friends, organized friends to join a choir to learn a composition of Ian Granditch directed by Richard Gill to open the Perth Festival one year, many years involved with local folk music club, teaching folk dancing and music at the Special School and music at the Primary School for a number of years. Di used music as a form of therapy, helping people cope with difficult emotions such as sadness, fear, anger, and anxiety and also to help lift spirits when feeling down or overwhelmed by life's challenges. As Billy Joel said, “Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts” and that was Di’s generous musical gift to others.
Though our dearly loved friend is not here physically, through the blending of musical themes with fond remembrance of her, she still lives on. Life and love go on, let the music play--as music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies.
The melody that Di played upon the piano of our lives, now that she is gone, will never be played quite that way again but we must not close the keyboard.
Sykes Music School
Sykes Music students will be performing on the grand piano in the Town Hall.
Helen Rose
Using her souful voice, Helen Rose captivates audiences bringing warmth and connection to everys stage she graces.
Kate Baker - Jazz
Juice maker Kate Baker is bringing both sparkling ciders and scintillating piano harmonies to the Cherry Festival this year. Warm contralto vocals tell the classic jazz tales: cheeky and sweet, with a touch of Christmas cheer.
