Port Adelaide’s iconic Pirate Life Brewing is gearing up to host the official closing night party for the 2021 Umbrella Festival this weekend. The all-ages event on Sunday 17 October will feature free performances from some of Adelaide’s hottest local talent throughout the afternoon and into the evening to celebrate the fifth instalment of the open-access live music initiative.
Headlining the Pirate Life stage is indie-pop outfit Bermuda Bay who are known in Adelaide’s music community for combining elements of funk, dance, and 80s city pop. They’ll be joined by electronic soul musician Zac Eichner, hip-hop/groove collective Tervete Collective, soul/pop songstress ARIES, blues and roots band Stormhorse, and soul/R&B group The Meristems. Endless Grooves DJs will be spinning vinyl throughout the event which is being hosted by Kaurna and Narrunga man, Jack Buckskin of Kuma Kaaru.
Umbrella Festival’s official wine partner, Alpha Box & Dice is generously offering an award to one lucky Umbrella Festival artist in a flash competition that’s running during the festival’s final week. Judged by the AB&D team, one Umbrella performer or band will be awarded Best Umbrella Artist and given a cash prize of $500 at the official Closing Night event this Sunday.
Music SA’s General Manager Kim Roberts is thrilled that this year’s Umbrella Festival could extend through until October to compensate for a snap 7-day lockdown in July.
“The entire team at Music SA have worked so hard to bring you this year’s Umbrella Festival in a COVID-safe format. We would love for you to come and celebrate with us this Sunday down at Pirate Life!”, she states.
The official closing night event for the fifth instalment of the annual Umbrella Festival was initially planned for Sunday 9 August. However, in late July, South Australia’s snap lockdown prompted Music SA to extend the Umbrella Festival until Sunday 17 October to allow breathing room for festival participants to reschedule their events.
Throughout the 7-day lockdown period, over 80 live music performances across 40 venues were postponed, including several events from Umbrella’s curated program. A total of 27 events have been completely cancelled, with approximately 60 events rescheduled to a later date across the extended festival period. The financial impact that this has caused across the state is yet to be determined and is still being worked through between Music SA, venues and event producers.
The official closing night event for the 2021 Umbrella Festival kicks off at 2:00 pm on Sunday 17 October and is proudly supported by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, Alpha Box & Dice and is presented by Pirate Life.
Umbrella Festival 2021 runs from Friday 16 July – Sunday 17 October 2021.
