Here And There Festival – About the Festival

a touring festival curated byCourtney Barnett

About the Festival

When Courtney Barnett first started playing shows she drove vast distances through the Australian bushland and desert, passing occasionally through small towns and stopping at gas-stations and fast-food outlets. Eventually she’d arrive at one of Australia’s sprawling cities, unpack the car, and sing. She wrote a lot of songs about those experiences, some which appear on her early EPs and debut album. Songs like Dead Fox, Scotty Says and Out Of the Woodwork.

“I got lost somewhere between Here And There, I’m not sure what the town was called”

Scotty Says – Courtney Barnett (2012)

After the success of her early EPs in Australia, Barnett shifted focus to playing shows in North America and Europe. Each place was new to her, without an identity formed by personal experience. She was here, then a few days later she’d be there. Destinations in those days were just names on a map. But over the past decade these nameless and faceless places revealed themselves to be the beloved homes of communities, venues, theaters and amphitheaters with thriving musical cultures and incredible audiences.

‘Here And There’ is a concept partially born of Barnett’s love of curation. Barnett has owned a label (Milk! Records) for a decade now - releasing the music of artists from her home town of Melbourne, Australia as well a few brilliant US-based friends she’s made along the way (Sleater Kinney, Chastity Belt, Hand Habits amongst others), leveraging her deep connection with her audience to champion the music of others that she admires.

‘Here And There’ is also a fresh take on touring, inspired by a couple of life-changing events where Courtney was invited to host and curate. The first, a festival named Sonic City in Belgium back in 2019 and the second, a special event on Valentines Day 2020 where Barnett hosted an event for the Newport Folk Foundation.

When I was a kid I would make mix-tapes and dream up my own festivals, I’d even design the t-shirts and pair up musicians for iconic collaborations. I’d listen to the mix-tape and pretend it was the live recording of a concert, all my favorite artists on stage together.

This concept was something that remained floating in the back of my mind when I started playing music. Here And There feels like a natural culmination of energy after years of touring, and ten years of working on my label Milk! Records. It’s something I’ve been forever daydreaming about, and part of an always evolving project to share spaces and build new platforms for art and artists that I believe in.

It’s always been important to me to share the stage with people that I admire and artists that inspire me, which is why I’m so excited and grateful to announce this amazing lineup.