A one-day music festival celebrating the very best of Wagga's eclectic musical talent is set to return to Fitzmaurice Street next month.
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The music festival, which features more than 50 musicians, will take over Fitzmaurice Street on May 21 for a second time after being well received last year.
Organiser and director Phoebe Pinnock is thrilled to be back presenting a diverse range of local talent to the community in what is quickly becoming a highly anticipated event on Wagga's social calendar.
"It's a chance to bring [our local musicians] together on one day so that different communities and people with different tastes in music can all come together, enjoy the cultural aspects of Fitzmaurice Street, and spend the day enjoying music from 10am until well past 10pm," she said.
"What we need now is the audiences to come along, buy a drink on the day, buy a meal and then that way it invests in our musical economy and creative economy."
Fitz Fest was initially inspired by Fitz Live, a one-off micro-festival held in 2018 which the council was eager to see the return of, according to Ms Pinnock.
Council decided to invest in Pinnock's reinvigorated idea for a street music festival which was designed from a COVID-19 safe perspective.
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"This year, the event moves ahead with the support of the local venues and the council to make it all happen," she said.
"So we're hoping that the audience only grows and builds from the last couple of years."
Venues for this year's event include the Wollundry Amphitheatre, Romano's Hotel, The Duke of Kent Hotel, Thirsty Crow, Meccanico and The Riverina Hotel, as well as some little surprises throughout the day, including buskers in the Cadell Place courtyard.
Another one of those venues is the Curious Rabbit, which has a growing reputation for nurturing the growth of Wagga's arts and culture sector.
Owner Vickie Burkinshaw has brought her business back on board and sees it as an opportunity to welcome new patrons through her doors.
"I mean, we get that all the time at the Curious Rabbit, people saying, 'I didn't even know you guys existed', and that's the perfect medium and that's what we want other businesses to experience," she said.
Taking to the stage at the Curious Rabbit is singer-songwriter Hannah-Grace Spreitzer.
Five years on from owning the First in Course Award for Music 1 in the 2019 HSC with a mark of 100 per cent, she is excited to be making her Fitz Fest debut.
"'I've been involved in the local creative scene for quite a bit and then I was approached by Phoebe," she said.
"I think it's really cool, and the creative scene is really growing, so it's cool to be part of that and to make those connections."
Not so new to the game are Bernabe Fitzpatrick and Simon Shepherd, of the band Sprawler, who have been rehearsing together for about 20 years.
Influenced by the sounds of Nirvana, The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins, the rock band "wouldn't say we're easy listening, but we're not hard to listen to".
"For me, I'm just looking forward to hearing new and fresh music from musicians both young and old," Mr Fitzpatrick said
"I'm really hopeful we'll see a lot of people come out and enjoy the music."
Program announcements will be listed on the Fitz Fest Wagga facebook page and updated information is available via: www.fitzfestwagga.com.au.
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