“I want to create an annual festival where people can take time to listen and engage with the music and the artists, where new collaborations can grow, and where people will experience the ability that music has to refresh, inspire and astonish.”
Adam Simmons – Artistic Director

The Festival of Slow Music will be an opportunity to experience music of all genres in intimate spaces and to learn more about the musicians behind the sounds.

The Festival of Slow Music reflects the philosophy of the Slow Food movement but with the focus on the sensation of hearing. The idea of Slow Music is to promote a more direct connection to the musical experience through meeting the musicians, learning about the musical aspirations, listening to natural, unamplified sounds and taking the time to hear a performance in full.

The Festival of Slow Music is about an approach to listening and experiencing music – it is not a description of the music, which will most likely range from slow to fast, soft to loud, beautiful to ugly, old to now. It is not the music that will be slow, but the listening – the audience will be encouraged to slow down and enjoy the experience.

The Festival of Slow Music builds on the Portraits Concert Series at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, curated by Adam Simmons, and aims to highlight the region’s rich artistic heritage and the strong contemporary music and arts scene.

Events include the free opening on Fri 30 Aug at The Ballarat Mining Exchange, open rehearsals at The Ballaarat, music in various Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale venues and concerts in the Mechanics’ Institute, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Craig’s Hotel, The Ballaarat and The Known World Bookstore. During the weekend the Festival Information desk will be at The Unicorn, 129 Sturt St.

Artists include: Harry James Angus (of The Cat Empire), David Jones, Tony Gould & Imogen Manins, Wang Zheng Ting, Collider, Valanga and Andrea Khoza, Heather Stewart, Sarah Curro, Kris Wanders, Clocked Out, Sweet Mona’s Choir, Ballarat Ukulele Kollective, Freya Hollick, Mick Trembath and many more!

This inaugural festival presents an exciting and ambitious program. It is not about a label or genre but rather the experience across the festival weekend that will develop and define the concept of “slow music”.

Thanks to these organisations for their support:

APRA

Regional Arts Fund

Regional Arts Victoria

City of Ballarat

The project was made possible by the Australian Governments regional art program, The Regional Arts Fund, which gives all Australians, wherever they live, better access to opportunities to practise and experience the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is administered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria.