Launceston in Tassie’s north tends to get a little less attention than its southern sibling Hobart. According to Mona Foma director and Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie, that’s also what makes it so attractive as a festival destination.
“It’s a really great place to put together a festival in terms of its footprint and the uniqueness of the experience,” says Ritchie. “For example, Cataract Gorge is kind of like the spiritual centre of Launceston. It’s one of the most unique environments in any city in the world, to have a gigantic gorge in the middle of the urban area. We’ve had major events there every year.”
There’s a signature restlessness to the Mona Foma line-up. Debuting in Hobart in 2009, the event extended to Launceston for the first time in 2017, bringing some of the biggest names in music to the city of 70,000. “[In 2017] Wally De Backer - Gotye - put together an electronic music program which he presented in the round,” says Ritchie. “So there were people all around him on beanbags and chairs, standing, as well as people in the balconies. He was on a stage in the centre [and it] was just engrossing. And last year we had two shows by Midnight Oil on their final tour.”
Since then the annual hybrid event has been curated specifically to each city. It means the experience is fresh each year, whether you’re a first-timer or old pro.
This year Launceston is again splitting Mona Foma duties with Hobart. Running February 17-19 (the Hobart portion will run February 24-26), the Launceston edition will centre around a maze of classrooms inside a former Tafe building on Wellington Street, dubbed the Reunión district. Ritchie says to start your festival here.
“We’ve located a large portion of the program in the Reunión district, so that’s a no-brainer,” says Ritchie. “You show up there, you see the art and you listen to the music. Then you can walk to the gorge, walk over to St John’s [church, which will host Mona Foma shows]. We’re also putting bands in the Harvest Market, which is a really popular local gathering point.”
We asked Ritchie what to keep an eye on during the 2023 Mona Foma festival in Launceston.
Floors of Heaven
British electronic artist Leon Vynehall is taking over the Cataract Gorge swimming pool for the duration of the festival for a unique listening experience. “Leon’s going to put speakers in the pool and play a special sound work that’s been composed for people to listen to underwater,” says Ritchie. “Residents and visitors will be able to go through their normal swimming routine but with the addition of a fantastic soundscape which you can only hear if you’re under the water.”
Complaints Choir
Launceston may be a beautiful slice of northern Tassie, but the locals still have their gripes. “It could be that garbage pickup is not frequent enough or we don’t have an AFL football team,” says Ritchie. “Some complaints are really understandable, some of them are silly.” Whatever the issue, these local problems will be given an artistic polish throughout the festival thanks to daily local performances by the Complaints Choir. The brainchild of artistic duo Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, the group community choir will sing a series of submitted complaints.
100 hours of Chloe Kim
If you’ve ever played drums, you’ll know it takes tremendous effort, even in short bursts. Performer Chloe Kim aims to complete ten hours of drumming a day for ten days across the duration of the festival. “Chloe’s a young drummer from Korea,” says Ritchie. “But she’s been [living] in Australia for almost 10 years now. She wants to commemorate her time [here] with 10 hours of drumming a day during the 10 days of the festival. Just imagine yourself playing a drum set for 10 hours a day, every day. It’s obviously a marathon and Herculean feat.”
Music at Old Tafe sessions
It’s not Mona Foma without a stellar line-up of musical artists both local and international. This year in Launceston you can catch acts like Perturbator, The Chills, I Hold The Lion’s Paw, Soccer Mommy and, Ritchie’s pick, English performer Kae Tempest. “Kae Tempest is one of the greatest artists we ever had in Mona Foma,” says Ritchie. “They played some years ago and I was completely astonished. I’ve also followed their writing, poetry, novels, rap, singing - it’s incredible stuff. I consider Kae to be one of the most important artists of the generation.” Entry is free but registrations are essential.
Eating and drinking
Between bouts of performance art and world-class bands, Ritchie encourages guests to pop into some of his favourite local haunts, like Sweet Brew cafe on George Street and casual fine diner Stillwater. “It’s a long-standing restaurant in Launceston that has incredibly good food,” Ritchie says. “I also like a place called Pachinko which is like a casual, Japanese-influenced place.”
Mona Foma takes place in Launceston from February 17–19, 2023, then in Hobart from February 24–26. See the full program and ticket details.
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