Perisher Valley (NSW), Australia – The Snowy Mountains of Music marks the beginning of the ski and snowboard season at Australia’s Perisher. The festival in just over a week’s time will feature more than 130 concerts, workshops, dances and performances.nThe program gets underway on Friday, June 11, with 18 bands scheduled to start the party. The music starts at 5 p.m. at Smiggins, the Sundeck Hotel and The Man From Snowy River with the sounds of Rough Red, The Lurkers, and Damien & Caroline followed by Jan Preston, Big Erle, The Tealeaves, Kim Churchill and more.
Saturday kicks off with the Official Opening at Jax Bar at 10:30 a.m. featuring special guests taking to the stage including festival ambassadors, cross-country skiing Olympians Ben Sim and Esther Bottomley, as well as a traditional Welcome to Country by Jarmbi’s Corrobborree. All 12 festival venues will be open on Saturday to learn tango or African percussion, soak up Australian artist Mick Thomas from Weddings Parties Anything, and dance the night away with festival favorite A French Butler Called Smith. Head down to Jax at 7 p.m. for the WIN Television Concert which will bring three of the festival’s headliners together for one huge concert – Chase the Sun, Jeff Lang and Mista Savona.
On Sunday, Zamboni the Magician, Circus Wow and Doctor Stovepipe will entertain kids at the Perisher Centre. Guests can try their hand at the mandolin, or enjoy a smorgasboard of music from The Crooked Fiddle Band to Wongawilli, Vorn Doolette, Grimick, Pete Wild and the Only Ones and The Barons of Tang. The Smigs Stage at Smiggins is the place to find the Handpicked Concert beginning at 5 p.m. with Chase the Sun, The Tealeaves, Jeff Lang and Blue King Brown continuing past midnight.
Monday will start on a mellower note with Sabrina and the Red Vans, as well as Australian folk artist Bruce Watson. Kids’ activities at the Perisher Centre continue through lunchtime with Gobsmacked and some quiet stories with Lilli Pilli. The finale concert at Smiggins wraps things up on Monday with A French Butler Called Smith.
Kids’ activities are free for those accompanying a paying parent. A Long Weekend Festival Pass costs AUD $135, an Evening Pass AUD $45 and a Full-Day Pass AUD $70. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is offering all festival visitors a special three-for-two-days entry ticket into the Kosciuszko National Park for the summer rate of AUD $34. And festival pass holders who want to dust off their skis or snowboard can pick up a lift pass for AUD $120 for adults and $66 for children.
For more information visit www.snowymountainsofmusic.com.au.