Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival
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Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival

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This year’s event is the fifth Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival and will be taking place from Thursday February 11 – Sunday February 14. The program of events includes wonders such as Flukes Hot Rod Club vintage car show, some international bands and sturdy rock’n’roll bands from every Australian state, along with a burlesque show, fashion shows, tiki parties and DJ hop sessions, plus a street party over the weekend. It’s an exhausting roster. So how did Lamont put it all together?

“I just listened to the experts,” she says. “There’s so much interest and support out there from people for things like the car parade and the fashion shows, and of course we talked to the musicians. Rockabilly is a big subculture in Australia and we have our own version of rockabilly. We have a lot of local bands. There are a lot of bands from Melbourne. And they all want to come. People are quite choosy. So we’ve made sure we’ve got one band from each state in the program.”

How did they choose the bands? “We go with word of mouth, with people we know and favourites from our previous festivals. And you hear from their fans. We have a couple of international acts, the Kingcats and CC Jerome.”’

It seems there’s a huge love for the festival from locals and visitors alike. “Absolutely,” says Lamont, who also runs a local comedy club in Ballarat. “The first rockabilly festival was more like a casual get-together and now this is the fifth event. People are so into it, so into the fashion, they’re really involved and it sets the tone, along with the cars – it looks amazing. The whole thing’s incredible on the eye. And there’s that style of dancing. There’s so much going on in this regard, it’s hard to sum it all up quickly. The poodle parade is really popular. We had an Elvis poodle last year, it went down a treat. It was a big success. And so is the 1950s Valentine’s Day Prom.”

While there are a lot of visiting acts from Melbourne and interstate, the burlesque girls are locals. “It’s a great atmosphere. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the street at the street party. There are market stalls, free live music and people dancing. A lot of the events are free, which is a real bonus. For the ticketed events you can get festival passes and wrist bands.”

Lamont’s put her own unique touch on the festival. “The kids’ band was my personal idea. We want to involve local families so they can come along and be part of it. There’s so much for them to be entertained by. The pin-up competition attracts a huge amount of people.”

A pin-up competition? No complaints about objectifying women then? “No. People love it. Men are competing too. It’s more like a pageant. It’s such great fun. Everyone ends up with some great stories to tell.”

The pin-up competition sees male and female pin-ups strut down the catwalk – categories include Mr Beat, Ms Classique, Mr and Ms Kustom Kulture. Will Lamont be getting dressed up? “I’m going to have a make-over session on the weekend`, so we’ll see how I look after that.”

What is her vision for the festival’s future? “I want to grow the festival and take it to that global level,” Lamont says. “Make it more international, tap into the global rockabilly community. There are other rockabilly festivals in Australia, in Queensland, and one in Camperdown, which has been going for ten years. Rockabilly festivals are a big thing in the States, of course, and in Europe. The big festival is in Las Vegas, that one sets the bar, that’s the cream of the crop.

“The great thing is that Ballarat Beat can become global but our festival will always have its own personality; it will grow naturally. We have a core group of die-hard fans. People come here for different reasons. Everyone is welcome, all ages. And it’s not that far from Melbourne, only an hour and a half. There’s plenty of parking.”

Does Lamont think there’s something special about Ballarat that makes the festival so popular? “Ballarat does lend itself to anything vintage or retro. It looks so good with its beautiful old buildings that are in such good condition. The town looks good, the buildings are well-kept and people here have a lot of pride in Ballarat itself and in its history.”

BY LIZA DEZFOULI