Playmakers brings music and makers together for its second year

After a successful debut last year, Playmakers is back again for another round of excellent music and outstanding musical workshops. Held over the weekend of Friday, March 27, to Sunday, March 29, in the idyllic, pastoral setting of Fairbridge Village, north of Pinjarra, this boutique festival has expanded this year to include more acoustic acts across a range of genres and a diversity of special events and instrument workshops.

The brainchild of guitarist/festival director Rod Vervest, Playmakers’ USP is that the performances and workshops are equally important. Players + makers = Playmakers. The aim is “to speak to audiences through the voice of the instrument, not the ego of the artist.”

Another key feature is the event’s scale. Intentionally small, attendance is limited to a maximum of 300 people, the number of beds in the dozen cottages that dot the century-old Fairbridge site plus a small camping component. This makes for a more intimate and relaxed festival experience. In our forever busy world, it is a blessed relief to drop back into second gear and cruise through a festival where you can easily see every act, attend as many workshops as you want and don’t have to worry about rushing from one performance to the next to get the best seat. In this regard, less really can be more.

It’s no surprise that a laid-back man like Rod Vervest should curate such a program. Forever smiling, he seems to have nary a care in the world. But behind this relaxed demeanour lies a highly experienced artistic director. Vervest’s resume includes stints directing the Fairbridge (folk and world music) Festival and Perth Festival’s Great Southern Program, as well as Albany’s Harboursound and Folk N Shanty festivals. In managing these major events, he has built a worldwide network of pedigree musicians, prominent agents and high-profile festivals. His 2026 Playmakers program draws on all of these connections.

Regardless of where they hail from, all of the acts in the program are acclaimed, virtuoso artists. For a compact event, the range of styles is striking. Not only does it cover everything from classical, traditional Anglo-Celtic-European folk and Americana, through hybrid world music and jazz to country and indie-pop, but every act brings something rich, exciting and slightly different to the mix. Moreover, although some individual musicians, including Vervest and music festival stalwart Mark Cain, are playing again in different ensembles, only one act, Eddy and Josephine Jay, featured in last year’s program. In this, Vervest is determined that the Playmakers is forever fresh and evolving.

The international touring component is impressive.

Riccardo Tesi is a recognised master of the diatonic accordion, while his musical partner, Guia, is renowned for her beautiful voice and expressive guitar. Respected around the world for his compositions and teaching, Tesi is seen as a key custodian of many Italian folk music styles.

Tony McManus has been hailed by John Renbourn as ‘the best Celtic guitarist in the world’, while Tommy Emmanuel describes his music as perfect. Gingered by jazz and Eastern Europe, his playing draws on traditions from the entire Celtic diaspora.

The exquisite folk harmonies of Canadian duo Basset have been likened by CBC Radio to Simon and Garfunkel or Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, while their countryman, singer-songwriter Lowry Olafson, has deep roots in the Perth folk scene. Having lived here in the early 1980s, Olafson returned in the 90s to play at Nannup and Fairbridge and is here again now to launch his tenth album, Born for This.

The Australian component of the program is equally inspiring and multicultural and includes many international artists who have relocated here.

At the more traditional Angle-Celtic end of the spectrum are Irish‑folk outfit Fiona Rea and Beeswing, Perth‑based ceilidh band Gallus, and the duo of virtuoso accordion player/instrument maker Eddy Jay and his fiddler/storyteller spouse, Josephine Jay. While the Jays journey through England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland with their witty medleys of trad and original tunes, Gallus’ love of Scottish dance will get audiences up on their feet.

Trad Americana is covered by The Ragtones and Dave’s Dobro Dream in their combined roadshow of interwar music styles: Country Blues, Ragtime and Vintage Jazz. Performed on antique instruments and microphones, they take the audience on a dreamy trip back into the glory days of parlour music, speakeasies and juke joints.

The classical contingent comprises two fine acts: Ingrid Riollot and The Perth Viol Consort.

Les Heures Musicales du Brionnais has described French classical guitarist Riollot as having a talent that is recognised worldwide. Now based in Esperance, she is renowned as an engaging musician whose deep classical training balances against a reflective, contemporary approach to the guitar.

Formed in 2013 by four passionate Viola da Gamba players, the Perth Viol Consort is one of WA’s finest early‑music ensembles. Intimate and elegant, they bring the expressive sounds of their Renaissance and Baroque viols to life.

At the other end of the spectrum sits a group of younger artists whose exciting styles blend folk with indie pop, beats and country.

WAM’s ‘Best Guitarist’ Donny Goodman (Dan Garner) will provide some guitar pyrotechnics, while West Australian singer‑songwriter Finn Pearson blends heartfelt storytelling with a dynamic mix of folk and indie‑rock. In a separate concert, Pearson will join Stacey Ann, a quietly charming force in the WA music scene known for her anthemic pop‑soul melodies.

At the 2024 WA Country Music Awards singer-songwriter Savanah Solomon was crowned Emerging Artist of the Year. Lyrical, warm and spacious, her music spans rock to country and beats.

In between these lie a plethora of hybrid, cross-cultural and cross-genre acts. Combining virtuoso skills with a fascination for improvisation and innovation, these artists discover and explore new musical territories.

Axis Three, guitarists Glenn Rogers, Don Candy, and Brendan Biddiss, unite classical precision with the spontaneity of jazz through tight interplay and open improvisation. Formed on Rod Vervest’s prompting, this virtuoso trio is being launched at Playmakers.

WAAPA grad and Golden Fiddle Award winner Daniel Drieberg is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. His dynamic playing spans jazz, classical, folk, world and contemporary styles and is underpinned by a passion for improvisation and cultural exchange.

Cross-cultural duo Dialogic unite Zimbabwe-born Ilan Zagoria’s guitar with West Australian Mark Cain’s reeds. A melding of rhythm, melody, and improvisation, their music spans southern African traditions and jazz.

SUD—Emiliano Beltzer (bass, voice and guitar) and Salvatore Rossano (accordion, voice and guitar)—blends music from Italy to South America.

Finally, Veena player Yaso Ponnuthurai, recognised for her commitment to Indian classical arts, will be joined by Bobby Mridangham and Pavan Kumar on Ghatam and Kahoon to share the beauty of Carnatic music.

There are fewer instrument-making workshops this year, but these have been supplemented by a series of in-conversation presentations with artists and makers.

At the instrument-making end of the workshops sit two extraordinary luthiers.

The handcrafted instruments of young British maker Daisy Tempest have been described by the Financial Times as ‘works of art’. Based in Sydney, her guitars have been acquired by players and collectors around the world, while her widely watched YouTube channel highlights the beauty of making things by hand.

Master luthier Andrew Ellis has built instruments for some legendary rock guitarists, including Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Steve Morse (Deep Purple).

The other three workshops cover key aspects of both instrument and music delivery.

Eddy Jay explores the 3D concertina. In Microphone Menagerie, Dave Robertson describes the properties and uses of different types of microphones in studio and on stage, while Lowry Olafson speaks about the complex art of songwriting.

If you think this all sounds specialist, don’t worry; these workshops are pitched to a general audience, contain stories that are both amusing and informative, and are suitable for everyone from beginners to audio geeks.

The in-conversation sessions are hosted by former ABC Radio National producer and mine of musical information, Doug Spencer. Lively and informative, over the course of the weekend Spencer will speak with Tony McManus, Riccardo Tesi, Daisy Tempest and Daniel Drieberg. In a separate session Glenn Rogers will talk to Yaso Ponnuthurai.

The final innovation this year is a set of specialist music forums: Americana, Young Songwriters, Accordion, Italian Songs and Celtic Dance. In each session, a group of specialist artists from the performance program will talk and play through their passion, experience and vast knowledge.

Throw in a few blackboard concerts, and the program holds something for all musical tastes and levels of musical interest.

The activities are presented in three indoor venues: the Village’s dining hall, chapel and clubhouse, and timed to enable easy movement from one to the next. The workshops and in-conversation sessions are each presented only once, but the performances repeat, sometimes with slight variation in repertoire.

As you would expect, the boundaries are flexible. If the musicians are on a roll and the audience has warmed to them, there is no necessity to end strictly on time. No one minds if the show goes a few minutes over. After all, the overriding intention of Playmakers is to relax and chill, take in at your leisure some extraordinary music and find out more about the deeper aspects of the art of making instruments and music. And if it gets too hot, well, you can jump in the Fairbridge swimming pool that, with a smaller total audience and thereby safer for everyone, will also be available.

A rising star in the firmament of West Australian music, the 2026 Playmakers will be a pretty good way to spend a weekend. And if you don’t want to commit to the full three days, as of today (March 19), single-day tickets are also on offer.

Full program details are available on the Playmakers website, along with tickets and bookings for accommodation and meals.

See these X-Press articles if you are interested in reading about the background of Playmakers, such as the preview to last year’s festival, a review of the 2025 festival, or in finding out more about Rod Vervest’s illustrious musical background.

IAN LILBURNE