By Jenel Hunt
It was a brilliant day that offered music to the ears of all who visited downtown Stanthorpe on Saturday for the South East Queensland Regional Finals of the Australian National Busking Championships.
Twenty-seven buskers lined the street at allocated stations on 4 March. Some of them played. Some sang. Some did both. Guitars and electronic pianos were high on the list of popular instruments but you’d see something different here and there, including ukulele and sax and items that weren’t musical at all but props in a balancing act.
The music was quite individual and captivating. At one station you’d be tapping your feet to a country song, another might offer the relaxed enjoyment of contemporary folk music or you could come across something techno-inspired for a really different tone.
The event was a veritable symphony as it brought together all the moving parts at the right time for a perfect presentation.
Russell Wantling, the president of the event’s organising committee the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival, was still buzzing with excitement days later.
“I’ve never heard better,” he said.
“It was just, wow. You couldn’t believe the standard. And the different age groups of people had so much to offer – the young and the old and everyone in between. They were amazing. Perhaps that’s something you kind of don’t expect with busking, especially when you consider that for a lot of them it was their first time.“
He said people came from as far as northern New South Wales and the Sunshine Coast to take part in the event.
He estimated 1500 people were in the main street during the downtown session, then when the finalists had been chosen and the party moved to the Railway Precinct around mid-afternoon some hundreds turned up for the free concert and awards presentation.
The judging was a bit different this year too. Local duo Nine Year Sister, who won the major prize in 2020, judged alongside regular judge Peter Robinson from 10FM and the Australian National Busking Championship founder Allan Spencer, of Cooma.
MC was Matthew Shields, known to all as Shieldsy and a musician in his own right.
“Shieldsy is really popular. He has a great sense of humour and he was a fantastic MC,” said Russell.
You couldn’t have found a person who was a better fit for the job, because Shieldsy had already been through the competition himself. He won the championships last year in Stanthorpe and went on to take out second place in the Australian National Busking Championships.
Shieldsy even picked up his guitar to sing his newest song, a tribute to fallen officers Const. Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold of Tara Police. Jenni and Emma Wardle also performed a couple of songs after taking off their judges’ hats. The overall winner, Vix, sang a cover and then did one of her own songs as an encore. Her energy, brilliant guitar playing and slightly gravelly voice was a hit with everyone as she rocked the blues.
Also known as Vix Bluesinger – her name is actually Vicki Sheather – Vix won the Open Champion Category to put her on track for the Australian Nationals in Cooma in November, and then followed up the big win with the People’s Choice award. This doesn’t usually happen – maybe it has never happened before – but when you stood back to look at the effect her music had on her audience, even children more than 40 years her junior were choosing to tip her or put a token in her bucket. You’d have to say it showed that her magical guitar and vocal mix had an ageless appeal.
Even the next day she couldn’t quite believe that she had won.
“OMG, I’m still a bit shocked that I won this thing!” she said.
“I met some lovely people and saw some awesome talent. And, thank you so much to everyone who voted for me in the People’s Choice as well. My heart is full.”
Grove Juice from Warwick sponsored the Open Category to the tune of $1500.
Some great local input on the day included St Joseph’s School littlies, the Granite Belt Support Services Auslan choir and some colourful music from the (non-competing) ukulele group, The Graniteers.
“We had 50 volunteers making sure it ran smoothly. I have to say a huge thank you to all of them. Even the Mayor was there at one of the stations helping out. The Rotary Club of Stanthorpe was fantastic too. President Jim Barnes and some volunteers had a barbecue going in the main street and then when the competition moved to the Railway Precinct they gathered up their stuff and brought it up and just kept flipping burgers. We’ve had massive support from local businesses with sponsorships. We can’t thank them enough. And to the Railway Precinct, thank you for the use of the venue. It was perfect,” said Russell.
The South East Queensland Busking Championships, which started as a Rotary initiative in 2016 then was taken over by the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival in 2018, has a permanent home in Stanthorpe.
Next year is an Apple and Grape year, and the busking will kick off the 10-day festival on the lead-up weekend to the main festival.
