ENTERTAINMENT Preview: 15 Tasmanian shows not to miss over summer From international music acts and fun-filled festivals to outdoor family entertainment and art exhibitions, here are 15 fabulous ways to spend the summer Christmas-New Year period in Tasmania.

PENNY MCLEOD, Mercury Subscriber only | December 19, 2019 4:32pm

Singer-songwriter Montaigne, aka Jess Cerro, is performing at Falls Festival. Picture: RYAN OSLAND/THE AUSTRALIAN FROM international music acts and fun-filled festivals to outdoor family entertainment and art exhibitions, here are 15 fabulous ways to spend the summer Christmas-New Year period:

1. Mona summer festival, museum lawns

MONA’s music marathon kicks off tomorrow, with live music from noon until late afternoon. Multiple acts are lined up daily, including the Brian Ritchie Trio, Monique Brumby and Gnarlhund, among many others. Food and drinks will be on offer from Moorilla Wine Bar, Heavy Metal Kitchen and The Source restaurant. Open 10am-6pm daily throughout January. From tomorrow until January 31, excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. mona.net.au

2. A Celtic Christmas — A Taste of Ireland

A TASTE of Ireland brings its seasonal production, A Celtic Christmas to Tasmania for the first time. World champions of Irish dance will take to the stage for a night of ballads, tunes, taps and tradition as they tell the story of two star-crossed lovers. Tomorrow at 7.30pm at the Theatre Royal, . Tickets are available at theatreroyal.com.au

3. Falls Festival, Marion Bay

THE Falls Music and Arts Festival at Marion Bay is regarded as one of the most laid-back, family-friendly music festivals, featuring top bands, DJs, comedians and arts activities for families. Montaigne. Picture: SUPPLIED This year’s highlights include international headliners Milky Chance, Montaigne, Peking Duk, Illy and locals Kat Edwards, Luca Brasi, A. Swayze and the Ghosts and Squid Fishing. December 29-31. fallsfestival.com

4. New Year’s Eve

IVA Davies is presenting Icehouse in Concert, at the Wrest Point Entertainment Centre on December 31. “We are in the luxurious position these days of being able to put on a very large show,” Davies told Preview. wrestpoint.com.au

Iva Davies. The Taste of Tasmania’s New Year’s Eve party features Tasmanian artists such as Hugo Bladel and Mia Palencia singing hits from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Princes Wharf No.1 Shed, Hobart. thetasteoftasmania.com.au

5. Festival of Small Halls

THE Tasmanian leg of this nationwide festival begins at Southport on January 4. The shows feature Siobhan Miller (from Scotland, also performing at the Cygnet Folk Festival) and critically acclaimed Australian songwriter Jack Carty at venues across the state, including Southport, Derby, Rowella, Nanamara, Longford, Mole Creek, Cygnet Folk Festival, Stanley, Somerset and Sulphur Creek. January 4-16. Festivalofsmallhalls.com

6. Cygnet Folk Festival

THIS beloved annual folk festival features local, national and international performers. Highlights at this year’s event include shows by Scottish performers (as part of the nationwide Year of Scotland celebrations) such as Siobhan Miller and The Elephant Sessions (who are also playing at Rosny Farm Barn, Hobart, on January 9), First Nations artists and acclaimed Australian artists Rob Snarski and The Maes. January 10-12 at multiple venues around Cygnet. Tickets at cygnetfolkfestival.org

7. Mona Foma

MONA Foma features more than 400 artists performing at 25 venues throughout the summer festival. Highlights include shows by international performers Amanda Palmer (US) and Jeremy Dutcher (Canada), Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi, and Australian favourite Paul Kelly. Amanda Palmer. picture: ALLAN AMATO, image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma. The festival also features visual art, special projects and dance works. Family-friendly acts include the play King Ubu at The Gorge in Launceston, Daedalum Luminarium at Royal Park, and an exhibition at the Elphin Sports Centre.

The Toilet Brushes as featured in King Ubu, presented by Mona Foma and Terrapin From L-R: Spike Mason, Dean Stevenson, Emily Sanzaro, Yyan Ng and Brian Ritchie. Picture: JESSE HUNNIFORD, image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma. From January 11-20 at multiple venues across Launceston. Tickets atmonafoma.net.au

8. Busby Marou

THE Busby Marou boys will be performing a three-gig tour of Tasmania following the release of their new album, The Great Divide. The Queensland duo (Thomas Busby and Jeremy Marou) won the Blues and Roots Work of the Year category at the APRA Music Awards of 2012. Their song Naba Norem (The Reef Song) is sung in the Torres Strait Meriam Mer language. Launceston, Forth and Hobart, January 10-12. Ticketsoztix.com.au

9. Teeny Tiny Stevies

THE Teeny Tiny Stevies (sisters Byll and Beth Stephen, aka The Little Stevies folk singers, who are also performing at the Cygnet Folk Festival) are bringing their acclaimed children’s musical show to Hobart.

Bethany 'Beth' and Sibylla 'Byll' Stephen perform music for children under the name "Tiny Stevies" and also indie folk under the title of "The Little Stevies". Picture: STUART MCEVOY The sisters have released two hit children’s albums and will be performing favourites as well as new songs from their soon-to-be-released third album. Moonah Arts Centre, January 12. Tickets available at www.moshtix.com.au

10. The Amity Affliction A FAVOURITE with Australian heavy-metal music fans, The Amity Affliction is playing in Hobart on the back of the release of its new single, All my friends are dead. The band will be touring regional Australia for the first time since 2017. The group has more than 500,000 followers and is among just a handful of Australian artists to have four consecutive albums debut at No.1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Uni Bar, Hobart, January 16 at 8pm. Tickets at oztix.com.au

11. Summer Group Show at Despard

THE esteemed gallery’s Annual Summer Group Show is a showcase of new work by the gallery’s artists. There will be work by Geoff Dyer, Micheila Petersfield, Graham Lang and Patrick Hall among others. Despard Gallery, Hobart. The Summer Show is on from now until February 2.

12. OktoLab 19

OKTOLAB19 has brought together artists, writers and scientists from Tasmania and around the world to investigate an extraordinary mollusc — the octopus. Plimsoll Gallery, School of Creative Arts and Media, Hobart, Wednesdays to Sundays noon-5pm until January 25.

13. West: Out on the Edge, TMAG

THIS new exhibition explores Tasmania’s West through educational displays and stunning artworks of the region’s landscape by William Piguenit, the wilderness photography of Olegas Truchanas and others, and a landmark silent-era film, Jewelled Nights, filmed at Savage River in the 1920s. Argyle Galleries 1-4, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, until May.

14. Waltzing Matilda — The Tale of a Dancing Sheep

BIG Monkey’s annual show at the Botanical Gardens in Hobart is a much-loved Tasmanian tradition, now in its 25th year. This year’s show, Waltzing Matilda — The Tale of a Dancing Sheep, is set in drought-affected Cooee Creek, deep in the Australian bush. Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Tuesday to Sunday from December 31 to January 19. Tickets at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens information booth or at theatreroyal.com.au

15. Hobart fringe festival

Australia’s newest — and Tasmania’s only — fringe festival, Fringe at the Edge of the World Hobart, runs from January 9-12 and features 57 artists performing at 10 venues over four days.

“The festival came about because, as an artist, fringe festivals have been a huge part of my life, and it felt strange to be living somewhere with no active fringe festival, so I created one from scratch,” says festival director Gillian English.

“Last year we had 24 artists, with one performance each, in three venues across four nights. It was a huge success, and we had almost triple the amount of applications for 2020.”

Every genre of performance is on offer: comedy, physical theatre, circus, drag, cabaret, burlesque, theatre, spoken word and magic.

Kirsty Webeck is performing at Hobart's fringe festival. Ange Lavoipierre is performing at Hobart's fringe festival.

Highlights include Kirsty Webeck’s Gosh!; Anna Piper Scott’s Queer and Present Danger; ABC host and comedian Ange Lavoipierre’s new show, Zealot; Matt Stewart’s Monkey House; and Isabella Valette’s How Far I’ll Go.

“It’s based around my life as a kids’ entertainer,” says Valette, who first performed the show at last year’s Comedy Festival. “It’s a narrative-driven show, which essentially covers the terrible things I’ve been asked to do as a kids’ entertainer.”

Other shows to catch include Scott Wings’ Whiplash, and Telia Neville’s Untitled No.7.

Shows are at multiple venues, including the Brisbane Hotel, Polish Corner, Voodoo Bar and Grinners Dive Bar in North Hobart. Tickets and information at fringeattheedgeoftheworld.com.au