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Jayke, Roving reporter

Mildura Gospel Music Festival - Not what you think!

You hear the word 'gospel', and immediately you tune out. You think there'll just be a stage with a couple of choirs in robes singing about God's glory, etc, etc. I know because that's what I thought. It wasn't until a friend talked me into coming that I realised in reality it's actually far from that.

Internationally renowned artists take to the stage for hours of non-stop music of all genres. Rock, hip-hop, R&B, you name it, they have it. And better yet, it's almost completely free! Four of the five concerts this year were free for anyone to attend and the ticketed event was worth every penny.

Who?

The Mildura Gospel Music Festival (MGMF) has a six-person committee that works hard all year prior to the event. Between 40 and 50 volunteers take part in the festival once it's begun, taking on all kinds of roles from selling merchandise to hosting the concerts. The committee and most volunteers are made up of several combined Sunraysia churches, but anybody interested can be involved.

MGMF wouldn't be possible without the help of its many sponsors, and its partnership with a charity called Compassion International. They help support poor children around the world and help others reach beyond their communities to realise that one person can change another's life. You could sign up to sponsor a child or just donate a gold coin.

This year's lineup

This year there was something for everyone. Levi McGrath, Tessa D, 2/11, The Kingdom, Intone, Rebecca C, Audio Spectrum, Simeon, Fatis Valour and Matt Corby all turned out and gave several performances over the three days.

"I love coming to small town gigs not knowing exactly what you're going to get," said James Taylor from Fatis Valour. "I'm impressed with the turnout tonight considering the size of the town." Fatis Valour is based on the Gold Coast and made their way down especially for MGMF.

Intone is a Christian indie rock band based in Canberra. "I like coming to these kinds of gigs and being able to get personal with the crowd during and after show," said James Petterson, guitarist and keyboard player. "We form relationships with our fans and that continues on MySpace."

Another much anticipated artist was 2007 Australian Idol finalist Matt Corby. If you're from Sunraysia, you'll know that we don't have artists like Matt Corby in town very often. After he put on an awesome show we had a bit of chat. "It's great to get back to doing what I love, and singing about what I love," said Matt. "I've been to Mildura a few times before and it's such a great place to perform."

The artists all expressed what a great time they'd been having and, if invited, they'll definitely be coming back next year.

MGMF 2009

I spoke to Trevor from the MGMF organising committee and he said they were very pleased with how successful this year had been. "We're only in our second year, but they've both been a huge success," said Trevor. "We're going to keep building the festival up every year until it's the best it can be."

MGMF is definitely not to be underestimated. It's three days of great fun and music. It's hard to know how good it really is until you take advantage of this awesome festival and get yourself involved.

For more information on MGMF 2009 and this year's artists and their links go to www.mgmf.com.au.

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