Folk by the Sea - Kiama Folk Festival 2025

Folk by the Sea is an intimate folk festival style event featuring the sounds of folk, world, roots, Celtic and bluegrass music in the picturesque seaside town of Kiama, famous for its blowhole.

Held across 3 days from 5pm Friday 12th September to 4.30pm Sunday 14th September, the event will be with ticket only entry and will feature around 40 of the Best Folk Music Artists from around Australia.

Eight Amazing Venues - from the acoustic perfection of the Anglican Hall to the magnificent Kiama Pavilion, where every room has a view of the rugged coastline.

There’s a new generation of folk festival performers coming to Kiama in this line-up – setting a new standard for folk music, taking it to a new level and a new audience.

Folk By The Sea is proud to feature:

MZAZA, one of the most unique bands coming out of Australia today. Lead by acclaimed French-Sephardic frontwoman Pauline Maudy, this
award-winning group of cultural refugees from Bosnia, Latvia, Greece, Turkey, France, Sephardic Spain and Australia has been mesmerising audiences with powerful and inspired performances.

THE WEEPING WILLOWS, The Weeping Willows (Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth) are a couple of old souls, steeped in Bluegrass tradition and draped in Gothic Americana imagery. They regale their audiences with stories of sunshine and romance, God and The Devil,
“What's not to love? The velvety allure of vocal harmony, Bluegrassy instrumentation drizzled like honey, engaging Gothic narratives that both worry and warm. In the tradition of Johnny and June, Gillian and Dave, the Melbourne-based couple captivate the listener as a fine-tuned unit...” Rhythms Magazine

KEJAFI, amazing band that has cultivated their own sound within the Celtic music world. They bring their unique take on modern and traditional folk songs and tunes from Scotland, Ireland and Australia as well as adding to the repertoire of the genre with fresh, original tunes.

HUMPBUCKING PICKUPS,Led by songwriter and frontman Ewan Cloonan, the band thrives on their rich vocal harmonies and instrumental dexterity.

JASON AND CHLOE ROWETH, The wonderful Chloe and Jason have been researching and presenting the living tradition of Australian music for over thirty years together, forging unique combinations of music, poetry and folklore. They bring you powerful and delicate songs, room stopping recitations, seamless combinations of new and old Australian material presented with the easy warmth of old-style bush entertainment

There is so much more, you'll never want it to end!

Relax with friends. Enjoy live music in the most beautiful seaside location on the coast!

Book early for this EXQUISITE festival - TICKETS ARE LIMITED!

The festival is presented by volunteers from the Illawarra Folk Club Inc. who present regular folk music concerts in the Illawarra region and the world famous Illawarra Folk Festival

Please note that pets are not allowed on site.
Registered Assistance animals are allowed upon presentation of registration certificate at entry.

Conditions of entry