It takes a village: folk trio's formula for a successful festival

The National Folk Festival will have not one but three artistic directors for the 2024 event.

This year Dave O’Neill and Jo Creswell paired up. Now longtime collaborators mandolinist Michael Sollis, double bass player Holly Downes and violinist Chris Stone have been appointed to curate next year’s festival.

Mr Sollis is known for his role as the artistic director of education for Musica Viva Australia, leading Australia’s largest creative outreach program, and at Music for Everyone in Canberra; Ms Downes for being assistant director and programmer of the Majors Creek Folk Festival; and Mr Stone as the artistic director of Stringmania music camp.

All three have known each other for two decades since meeting at the ANU School of Music and have been collaborating together for the past decade including as members of The Griffyn Ensemble.

Mr Stone and Ms Downes are also founding members of internationally known group The String Contingent.

National Folk Festival managing director Heidi Pritchard said it was a first for the festival but their collective application could not be denied.

“They were just too good to say no to,” Ms Pritchard said.

In fact, the quality of the applications for the role was spectacular and their’s wasn’t the only collective one, she said.

“They’re three people with three very different sets of skills that are all complementary and bring us a new way of looking at the festival,” she said.

Ms Pritchard said all three grew up with the festival and understood how to work with a community and run a festival, and a budget.

“They respect our past and can imagine the future,” she said.

Ms Pritchard said they would have individual roles relating to their particular skill sets but would work as a team to create an exciting program for 2024.

She said Mr Stone was already assessing the first applications from performers, Ms Downes would focus on the operational side to ensure a great experience for artists and audiences, and Mr Sollis on community outreach, fundraising and grants.

Two high-profile performers had already approached the festival and within 24 hours of artist applications opening on Sunday, dozens of applications had been received.

Mr Sollis said that augured well for the festival and its standing.

“That speaks to how significant the festival is in the hearts and minds of Australians but also how important the festival is in supporting artists,” he said.

Mr Sollis said when the opportunity arose to run the festival program, it was a no-brainer for them to apply.

“For us the opportunity to work together on something that has been so fundamental to our lives was really a step we wanted to take together. It’s very exciting,” he said.

Mr Sollis said they wanted to create a festival that empowered artists and audiences to celebrate together, drawing on all its wonderful traditions.

The festival will continue to have a balance of local, national and international artists, something Mr Stone and Ms Downes, who have been on the folk circuit for years, are eminently qualified to provide.

Mr Sollis said the trio wanted to bring international artists to the festival who would not just perform on stage but collaborate with local artists and interact in some way with festival-goers, such as in workshops or community events.

They were also keen to bring the next generation of artists to people’s attention.

“We will lean on tradition but also have an eye out for future generations,” he said.

Maintaining the festival’s village vibe and staying open to what audiences wanted in their festival were keys to making the event work well.

“We have a really important responsibility to connect with audiences and say, ‘this is your canvas, what do you want to do with it’ and if we do that we will have an exciting thing that can only happen at the festival and only in Canberra,” Mr Sollis said.