A whole lot of fun for a gold coin donation. That is definitely the Newtown Festival. Sunday in the inner west on an overcast day was spent enjoying live music, writers talks and good food and markets. Although there was a sizeable crowd on hand it did seem a bit easier to get around this year. We arrived shortly after noon, in time to see Parades on the main stage. I had been wanting to see this band for a while and was incredibly impressed. This young five piece create a wall of sound with their guitar attacks, with great melodies and lashings of atmosphere. This band has a very exciting future and I eagerly await their next move.

We then ventured to the Writers' tent where we saw the end of Thomas Keneally's talk. The man is certainly someone who contains a mountain of knowledge of Australia's history. Then we were suitably entertained by a talk between Bernard Zuel and the legendary Robert Forster. The man is a living treasure. Fiercely intelligent and filled with a sharp wit he gave us a good insight into his time as a Go-Between and also his current work as a music critic. After this we took in Dead Letter Chorus on the main stage. This band always delivers the goods live and it was the first time I had seen them with their new bass player. They also played a new song in "All Mine". It was a live debut and after a false start, it proved to be a worthy addition to their live repertoire. Looks like the band might have a new album in 2010 as well. To finish the day I enjoyed the melodic pop of Melbourne's The Crayon Fields. Playing mainly songs off their new album, their dreamy harmonies were a fitting end to an enjoyable day.