Adelaide Fringe alive and well in 2021 and drawing on a world of local talent to maintain a global music outlook

Tribute concerts to Frank Zappa and Bruce Springsteen were among the shows presented by Adelaide talent at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe festival.

The 2021 Adelaide Fringe festival – the world’s second biggest, after Edinburgh, founded in 1960 – had the rare distinction on Earth of operating through the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic precluded the festival from attracting its usual quota of overseas acts but, in music, Australian, and particularly Adelaide, acts were able to continue the Fringe’s global outlook. (The Fringe had been founded by Frank Ford as a vehicle for Adelaide talent.)

Tribute concerts to Bruce Springsteen and Frank Zapper by Adelaide musicians were among others, including to Michael and Jane Jackson, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac et al, at the Fringe.

The Bruce Springsteen tribute, Classic Bruce, featured a 15-piece classical orchestra and six South Australian rock musicians and vocalists. Put together by former Fringe chair turned producer David Minear had Rohan Powell and Polly Politis, from popular Adelaide band Acoustic Juice, under the musical direction of Australian-born and Adelaide-based internationally acclaimed violinist Julian Ferraretto.

Absurdity is the only realty: Läther plays the music of Franz Zappa was presented by Adelaide band, Lather, that had immersed itselfs in the world of Zappa’s music more than a decade. Läther performed a mix of vocal and instrumental selections offered scope for solos to be shared among all eight talented musicians, led by guitarist Tim Hogan. Vocalist Gerry Masi, Dave Saunders (keyboard), Jarrad Payne (drums), Jeremy Martin (bass) and Ryan Simm were backed by an outstanding horn section.

The 2021 Pick of the Fringe award was won by a local Aboriginal dance and music performance Inma (featuring the Iwiri choir, Electric Fields and South Australian First Nations Dance Collective.