A new stage in the life of the Craven Creek Music Festival

MUSICIANS playing the Craven Creek Music Festival on 13 and 14 September will ply their trade on a newly built stage.

News Of The Area reported last month that this year’s festival will feature piano music for the first time, after the acquisition of a baby grand piano.

The festival is held in a century-old tin farm shed, which for most of the year hosts bales of hay, a tractor, farm equipment and the occasional possum.

When Greg and Jenny Lindsay first stepped into the old shed that they were about to buy, they noticed one end of the old building stood about 30cm higher than the floor and looked a bit like a stage.

A great place for a concert was the thought.

A year later, in September 2013, the first festival kicked off, and apart from two COVID-enforced breaks, concerts in the barn have been held every year since.

From its modest beginnings with a single performance in 2013, the Craven Creek Music Festival has grown into a highlight of the cultural calendar for Gloucester and the Mid-Coast region.

In 2025 there will be four concerts.

But what about that stage?

Designed originally as a platform for tools, odd jobs, and perhaps a bit of hay, it was never meant to carry more than a few people at once.

When the festival began programming larger works, such as Mendelssohn’s exhilarating String Octet, the strain showed and the stage began to sink in places.

A temporary fix was made in 2024, but with the arrival of the piano this year, it was clear something more substantial was needed.

Enter local contractor Sean Emerson and his team who recently set about the task with a flurry of energy.

A series of solid concrete piers now support a brand-new level floor, hopefully strong enough to withstand anything the festival can throw at it.

Last week, the work was finished and the piano was lifted carefully into place.

“When the 2025 Craven Creek Festival kicks off next month, audiences will hear one of Australia’s most eminent pianists, Konstantin Shamray, and both the new piano and the rebuilt stage will be put to the test,” said Greg.

“Hopefully that sinking feeling will be gone for good.”

By John WATTS