FREMANTLE will help keep the Fairbridge Festival flame flickering after its shock cancellation earlier this month, with a showcase of touring artists being staged at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Sunday, April 7.

The festival was cancelled just a month before it was supposed to kick off, with organisers citing lagging sales, increased costs and a struggle finding enough volunteers. It was also being held in Pinjarra for the first time, after the managers of Fairbridge Festival pulled the pin on large gatherings in 2023, saying the infrastructure wasn’t coping with the crowds.

Festival artistic director Jon Cope said the decision to cancel had been devastating for artists, so he’s put together the showcase at the arts centre under his own company, Kaleidoscope Multicultural Arts Management.

• Chipolata Tristan Glover and showcase organiser Jon Cope at the Fremantle Arts Centre. Photo by Steve Grant

“As a former touring artist myself, I know how important these festivals are for musicians and performers,” Mr Cope said, adding Covid had been particularly brutal for the industry.

“We’re delighted to showcase some of the world-class artistic talent that is touring to WA in April at this special Fairbridge Festival Showcase concert event in Fremantle.”

Mr Cope said one of his aims was to provide the performers with a fee that would go some way to compensate them for the sudden gap in their schedule.

Tristan Glover is one of the founding members of international act The Chipolatas, who’ve performed in 45 countries since forming in 1992.

While the full band won’t be able to play the showcase, he’ll be there to fly the flag, saying Fairbridge was a special place for the Chipolatas.

“Fairbridge was our first ever Australian contract in 1996 – we were the headliners,” Mr Glover said.

“We fell in love with the Fairbridge Festival and Western Australia, and we’ve been to Fairbridte 10 times over the year and it is one of the best festivals in the world – and we’ve done a lot of brilliant festivals over the years.”

Mr Glover said the showcase would be important for performers, organisers and festival attendees.

“This is a chance to come together and celebrate the importance of live performance in our day-to-day lives; for our community spirit, a peg in the sand on the path to visioning a way forward in the post-pandemic economic environment,” he said.

The Showcase will also feature performances from Danish outfit Himmerland, Canadians Gordie Tentrees and Jaxon Haldane, Shark & Fox, and a specially-commissioned ode to Fairbridge by poet Peter Capp from New South Wales.

It’s being held at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Sunday April 7 from 4 – 10pm.

Tickets from oztix.com.au; search for Fairbridge Festival Showcase.

by STEVE GRANT