The Songs of Chris Kempster CD launch
The double CD was launched at:
National Folk Festival
The Troubadour Stage
Monday 17th April 2006
11.30am - 1.00pm
Launch concert
| Roaring Days | James Fagan |
| Old Rebel Flag in the Rear | Tom Bridges, Deanne Dale, Alison Jones, Bob Fagan |
| Sailor Home from the Sea | Margaret Walters et al |
| Clancy & Dooley & Don McLeod | Bob Fagan |
| Drover’s Sweetheart | Kate Delaney |
| Do You Think that I Do Not Know? | Sonia Bennett |
| Down the River | Dave de Hugard |
| Bertha | Marg Fagan |
| Andy’s Gone with Cattle | Dennis O’Keeffe |
| Cane killed Abel | Danny Spooner, Bob Fagan, Alex Hood, Len Neary |
| On the Night Train | Jason and Chloe Roweth |
| Days When We Went Swimming | Chris Wheeler |
| Reedy River | Alison Jones, Jason & Chloe Roweth |
| Freedom on the Wallaby | John Dengate and selected chorus |
National Launch and Project Impressions
One of the highlights at the National Folk Festival this year was the "Songs of Chris Kempster" double CD launch. For two years the Chris Kempster Project team had worked to raise funding, to find the thirty tracks we were to use, to get copyright clearance, to write and organise the design of the booklet and finally to produce as professional a CD as we could muster.
There were many near misses, including the possibility of no CDs to launch, but there were many more hits. We had great support from the folk community from day one, we had crucial support from institutions like the National Library and the ABC, with their invaluable archives. We had support from audiences at the fundraising concerts and from the NSW Folk Federation. We had support form Cornstalk and Trad&Now. We had support from folk festivals from unions and from New Theatre. Most importantly we had the budgetary support for the project from our thirty odd sponsors. From our lists of contacts and supporters we worked out that over 100 people "out there" were helping to push this project along.
[photo courtesy Sandra Nixon]
The Chris Kempster Project team met maybe six or seven times over the two years and a huge amout of our work was done by email, well over 500 emails bouncing back and forth to sort things out, correct wording and historical facts, and finally agree on the content of the CD and its booklet. We ran a website [ chriskempster.net ] to keep people informed of our activities and our fundraising. Such a 21st Century endeavour!
The launch itself was incredible, such a high level of entertainment, such a keen and generous audience, such rapport, such a meeting of minds and souls. Launched? That CD took off like a blooming rocket!
Buy the double CD The Songs of Chris Kempster
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