Winery serves up final concert

After 24 years of bringing world- class live music festivals to Albany, Wignalls Wines has announced this week’s Vintage Music Festival will be the last.

Winery owners Rob and Claire Wignall have made the tricky

decision to stop the annual event in what they say are tough music industry conditions.

Over the years, the family-owned winery has hosted some of the biggest names in Australian music, including Paul Kelly, Daryl Braithwaite, Ian Moss, John Butler Trio and The Waifs.

The final line-up will see Blues Brothers Revue, Ash Grunwald and The Vibrolators bid farewell to an Albany music era in style.

Mr Wignall said it was the right time for the couple to retire from hosting the festival, after significant changes to health and other regulations.

“Our business is too small to cope these days,” he said.

“The expenses have gone crazy and we are finding everything really, really difficult.

“It is like the perfect storm.

“Southbound, Big Day Out and others have gone too, so it’s not us, it is the industry.”

The festival brought many people to Albany to see big-name acts, and in 2015, a survey of every person who passed through the gate revealed 29 per cent had driven more than 200km to get there.

The first Wignalls concert drew a crowd of 800 people and it grew to be a sell-out show for some years.

Mr Wignall estimated 62,000 people had partied with them over the years.

“There has been a huge amount of people that have met their future partners and ended up married, thanks to this event,” he said. “It is really hard to make the decision when you invent something going back in 1996. With my wife and Don Perfrement, we dreamt up this idea.

“It was a big community event.

“It was one of the very first festivals of its kind in Australia with the multi-stages over the whole day.”

Mr Wignall said he hoped one day the winery team would again host concerts, but as a venue, rather than an organiser.

Looking back over the years, he said his favourite concert was in 2011, when this year’s headliners, Blue Brothers Revue, played with Braithwaite.

“It was just one big dancing festival — it was just fun and it went down in the town’s legacy,” he said.

Tickets are still available to see the final festival.

They are available online at www.vintageblues.com.au for $75 or at the gate on the day if not sold out.

The festival will be held on Friday.