Festival of Small Halls ready to take over regional Tasmania

Brainchild of the organisers of Queensland’s Woodford Folk Festival, the Festival of Small Halls sees two folk acts play regional halls across the country over two tours. 

The summer 2017 tour saw 20 shows in regional Queensland in the lead up to the Woodford Folk Festival over New Year’s. 

The summer 2018 tour sees Tasmanian Claire Anne Taylor and Canadian duo The Small Glories play sets in 10 Tasmanian and nine New South regional halls respectively.

The festival kicks off at the the Rowella Community Hall on Friday.

Longford Hall and Rosevale Hall will also host shows on Saturday and Sunday, before the tour heads to the North-West.

Hailing from Milabena in the Tarkine rainforest, Taylor is no stranger to these kind of venues. 

“[Small regional halls] are definitely the ideal space to showcase what I do,” she said.

“These beautiful old halls were built for live music, and I love the way there’s a sort of feeling of community when you play in a hall.

“I think that will come out in the shows.”

After basing herself out of Byron Bay for her 2016 debut album Elemental, Taylor moved back to Tasmania to record her unnamed upcoming album, set to be released in March. 

Taylor’s Tasmanian roots play a large part in her songwriting process. 

“Whether I like it or not, Tassie feeds into my song writing,” she said. 

“There’s a real kind of honesty in Tasmanian artists, some people would call it a rugged feeling, and I think it’s evidence of the Tasmanian landscape having an influence on our artists, and the contents of their songwriting.” 

For more information on tour dates, head to festivalofsmallhalls.com.