PORT Fairy Folk Festival’s Future Folk program is back to support young emerging artists aged between 12-25 hailing from south-west Victoria.

The festival received a huge response from young artists and on Friday announced Andrei O’Connor, Angela Kenna, Atomic Entourage, Etta Lane, Evie Dalton, Lucy Lorenne, My Giddy Aunt, Out of Hand, Ruby Mckenna, and Zoe Borthwick as 2023 Future Folk stars.

Following on from their success of last year’s pilot program, young artists were invited to apply to fulfil their dreams of performing on stage at the Port Fairy Folk Festival.

Port Fairy Folk Festival program director, Justin Rudge, said this year’s Future Folk artists are a wonderful addition to the overall event.

“We are honoured to support local artists from south-west Victoria and play a part in developing their career in music,” he said.

“There is a wealth of extraordinary talent coming out of the region, and we’ve seen local artists go on to have a magical career after performing at the Folkie.

“We are thrilled to be a part of their journey.”

As part of the Future Folk program, participants will work with established artists performing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in one-on-one and group mentoring sessions.

The program aims to develop skills, confidence and connections for young performers to develop their careers.

Music-lovers can experience Future Folk performers over the Port Fairy Folk Festival long weekend in March where the musicians will play at Fiddlers Green as part of the emerging artist showcase.

Festivalgoers can also experience the artists across various stages in the festival arena.

The Future Folk program is proudly supported by Moyne Shire Council through the Victorian Government’s FReeZA program.

Mayor Cr Karen Foster said the Future Folk program was a great initiative to support young artists from the Moyne Shire.

“We’re proud to support local musicians and this is an incredible opportunity for our talented performers to take the stage in front of a live audience and gain invaluable performance experience,” she said.

 “Future Folk highlights the region’s emerging talent and provides important development opportunities for our young people.”

The Port Fairy Folk Festival takes place in Port Fairy from March 10-13, 2023.