After accepting almost every accolade her industry had to offer during a long touring and recording career, Norma O’Hara Murphy decided to give something back to her community.
The country and folk music artist who netted five Golden Guitar awards, an ARIA nomination and an induction into Australia’s Country Music Hands of Fame throughout her career, is founder of The Bony Mountain Folk Festival.
This year’s festival, hosted on 50 acres of Norma’s own property, will be held on September 14, 15 and 16.
Norma- who is also set to perform at the festival, said she had always wanted to host her own festival and when she retired from touring, she was able to turn the dream into a reality.
“I rang heaps of mates and said this is my plan and everyone wanted to be involved,” she said.
“My biggest problem was having to beat people away with a stick. Not everyone can perform every year.”
She said organising the concert for eight years had not been easy- artist’s fees along with the associated costs of bringing in generators, toilet cubicles and other amenities have forced her to register it as a not for profit event.
But the festival has become as valuable to regular guests and performers as it is to her and she is determined to keep it going.
She said the festival was about preserving the almost lost art form of the Aussie bush ballad- noting popular country music festivals like Tamworth had become increasingly more “Americanised”.
“I think our bush ballads are quite unique. We have some absolutely great stories in song,” she said.
“As a songwriter, that is my gift- I meet people, they tell me their story and I get a song out of it.”
This year’s festival will adopt a Slim Dusty theme and will include the opening of a permanent Slim Dusty museum.
Norma knew the legendary artist well, writing a number of songs for him in the latter years of his life, including Paddy William- a song about an Indigenous drover she met which won the pair Golden Guitar awards in 2001.
She also included a tribute to him titled Travelin’ Man on her Sweet Rain album.
The festival will be attended by members of Slim Dusty’s family including daughter Anne Kirkpatrick- who will also perform and members of his original touring band.
Other performers at this year’s event will include Dianne Lindsay and Peter Simpson, Pixie, The Bluegrass Boyz, Errol Gray, Jeff Brown, Pipe Bands and the Cape Byron Celtic Dancers.
There will also be a ukulele school and plenty of kids entertainment, while walk up performers will be welcome to perform music, poems or to share jokes or stories.
Norma said she was still in need of more volunteers for the festival and would love to hear from anyone who was interested in learning more or helping out.
The property is located on Upper Wheatvale Road, Warwick in the state’s Southern Downs region.
Free camping spaces are also available on the grounds for ticket holders, with gates to open from September 10.
For more information, click here or call (07) 4667-4604.
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