Jo Fabro on food, wine, music and life
Image: Jo Fabro in Pirrama Park. Credit: Mark Dickson Photography
This weekend, Pirrama Park will be buzzing with food, wine and art lovers, and anyone who enjoys being under the sun, beside the harbour, celebrating the good things in life. The 12th Pyrmont Festival is taking place across Saturday and Sunday, with lots of artisan produce, ready-to-eat food, oyster bar, beer, gin, and wine and fabulous live entertainment.
Singer, songwriter and self-confessed foodie, Jo Fabro, will headline the live music program on both days. It’s Fabro’s fourth time performing at Pyrmont Festival and she has established herself as a crowd favourite.
Fabro is well known in the Sydney music scene, having been a performing and writing for almost 20 years. Her style encompasses a broad range of genres including jazz, blues, soul, pop and songs that are distinctly her own sound.
Fabro’s album, Don’t Make A Liar Out of Me, is her heart and soul set to music. The songs are authentic, coming from lived experience and smart observations. It’s mature yet fun, smooth yet filled with party groove.
“I learnt a long time ago, if you make yourself happy you’ll make everyone else happy,” says Fabro, describing her approach to writing and performing music.
“Pick what you’re passionate about and people will respond to it.”
Fabro sees music as a form of communication, a shared emotional experience. For the Pyrmont Festival, Fabro will sing a mix of originals and covers, something for fans and newcomers to her music.
“Opportunities at festivals are great because you tend to get exposed to a bunch of new people who might not necessarily see you in another context,” says Fabro.
While she generally performs in typically intimate jazz/blues style venues, Fabro also does larger, outdoor music festivals. She enjoys both.
“When you get to play outdoors at a festival, it’s always super duper fun. And this one’s interesting because, you know, sometimes you play outdoors specifically at music festivals, but this is a food and wine festival, and so people are going there primarily for the food and wine, but they’re sort of pleasantly surprised when they find music, and you know, they set out deck chairs in front of the stage and people always take a seat, they come with their wine and their food and they enjoy themselves while they’re experiencing all of the produce, which is great.”
Fabro believes the music and entertainment scene in Sydney is seeing a resurgence. Events like Pyrmont Festival offer a fantastic opportunity for people to hear new artists while enjoying great food and wine.
“People are remembering that they like live music, remembering that it’s nice to go out and do something instead of sitting at home.”
