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The first Fest’Napuan was organised in 1996 by the Vanuatu Cultural Centre to commemorate the second National Day of Culture - 17th November – which had been officially declared by the Government the previous year to celebrate the opening of the new National Museum building on that date in 1995. Fest’Napuan 1996 was staged in front of the National Museum building, in the purpose-built amphitheatre of the National Cultural Complex, which has now become the event’s home.

 

The name ‘Fest’Napuan’ is a combination of two words, the word ‘festival’ from English and French, and the word ‘napuan’ from one of the languages of the island of Tanna, which means music and dance. The Fest’Napuan aims to promote the development of contemporary music in Vanuatu by:

* providing young people in music groups with the chance to perform in front of a large audience and access to greater public exposure;

* providing young people in music groups and aspiring musicians with exposure to other bands and other types of music;

* encouraging Government and private sponsors to recognise and support Vanuatu’s contemporary musicians;

* providing two nights of free top-quality musical entertainment for the people of Port Vila (and the rest of the country) performed by a broad cross-section of local groups and special overseas acts.

 

The Fest’Napuan is organised by its own committee, all of whom are volunteers. Each year, the committee has comprised mostly of young people, many of who are musicians themselves and many of whom are unemployed. Their participation in the organising committee provides them with skills and experience in office management, administration, logistics and organisation that greatly improves their prospects for later employment.

 

Now in its twelfth year (2007), the Fest’Napuan is recognised nationally as the premier cultural event of the year. Audience numbers grow each year (last year’s estimate was over 30,000 people over the four days) and include increasing numbers of people coming in from the outer islands especially for the event. The Fest’Napuan is also gaining increasing recognition regionally, with bands from New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, the Fiji Islands, West Papua, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand having participated to date. In 2004, for the first time, Australia’s ABC network recorded and broadcast the event live across the region on Radio Australia.

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Widely regarded as the best-fest-yet, Fest’Napuan2007, in its twelfth edition, has delivered possibly the biggest and most professional production in Vanuatu’s 27-year modern history. Saralana Stage was bursting at the seams on each of the four days. In particular, Friday and Saturday nights saw the venue at full capacity for several hours.

With more tailored support this year from the biggest major sponsors: Unelco, TVL, and Air Vanuatu; the organisers were able to focus on delivering a more polished event. For the first time ever, with the support of TVL and Vanuatu Online broadcast the event live on the internet.

The increase in allocated power, and a dedicated electrician (sponsored by the Port Vila Municipal Council), meant that the power problems which have plagued the event are now a thing of the past. Thanks to Unelco, the “clean” power contributed to a much improved sound.

The Vanuatu Cultural Centre and Pacific Autronics both provided substantial logistical and in-kind support making it possible for the organisers to devote more resources to developing the local music production industry.

Air Vanuatu, the Australian High Commission and the Coopération Régionale de Nouvelle-Calédonie gave significant support which allowed the organisers to bring in a variety of international artists. The Black Seeds (NZ/Aotearoa), Inka Marka (Aust.), the Whitehouse (Aust.), Unique Family (Solomons) and Just Friends (New Caledonia) all contributed to an exciting line-up.

Joining them were many of Vanuatu’s brightest musical characters – both past and present. KRK and the Mix House opened the proceedings on Friday night and surprised the throngs of arriving people by inviting one of the pioneers of contemporary Vanuatu music, Henry Toka of Tropic Tempo, on to perform with them. After a rousing and entertaining set KRK and Henry Toka left the audience salivating for more. Beeman provided with his high-energy outfit Aimos Groove with their rich vocals crowing and crooning at the growing crowd as the sun set over the harbour.

The always memorable Vanlal delivered another thoughtful performance. As they become the most senior Penama band, they are maturing into a quality act. With a show featuring traditional dance, costume, and language, there is no lack of energy and entertainment; regardless, Vanlal spiced up their show with some pointed socio-political critique.

Zaddock and the Tunes Zions, from the JP Simon School of Voice, kept the crowd entertained as the clock ticked into the wee hours of Saturday morning, before Nauten blew the roof of Saralana Stage. It was a truly memorable Fest’Napuan Friday and it set the scene for Saturday.

Saturday evening was dominated by the twin-towers of Vanuatu music from Tongoa and Tanna: Diomega and Naio. Once again, these two bands set the standard for the other groups to follow. Both groups leveraged on their connections with the Sunshiners and it was clear to all that the international experience has helped our homegrown artists to develop their stage presence and performance.

Earlier in the afternoon Joe Nara Mete, Wave 2000 and AOBA Boys did their best to draw a crowd before Amel’oza opened up the stage for the international bands. Fest’Napuan veterans S’lov and Krosrod played to a full house of admiring fans and debutants Black Ghetto and Apocalypse impressed many with their on-stage energy and enthusiasm.

This year’s Kastom Ekonomi theme was taken up by many of the bands. As usual, Nauten and Vanlal had their traditional dance troupes. Both these groups sing in vernacular languages and incorporate traditional rhythms and melodies into their songs. Vanlal’s “Boe Morovo” tells the story of a young man negotiating his way through the Kastom Ekonomi.

Kalja Riddim Klan also took up the theme incorporating traditional rhythms and instruments into their performance. There was a poignant felicity and a sense of coming full circle in the way Henry Toka was able to join them on stage and give such a spirited and professional performance. There were moments when it was unclear whether it was Tropic Tempo and “Voes Blong Ol Bubu” or KRK and “Long Taem Bifo”. This fluidity of spirit, respect, and openness to shared experience speaks to me of the essence of kastom, more so than the words of any song.

There was one other notable development in this year’s event. The inclusion of Wan Smolbag Yut Senta and the Inter-Youth Agency into the organising committee, and the production of the “second-stage” proved to be extremely worthwhile. In fact, at times, the popularity of the second-stage threatened to overwhelm the primary stage. As the festival’s culture reflects and refracts the shifting plates of Vanuatu society, the bulging adolescent population seemed to find their own place – on the edge, not of society, but the edge of the second stage. They swarmed through, surrounding the stage and any space which offered a view of the b-boys and b-girls. Once the dancers finished they dispersed again, politely, and they appeared to vanish into the crowd.

Once again, the organisers would like to send a very big thankyou to all the sponsors, the musicians and performers, and the public for making Fest’Napuan 2007 the best-fest-yet!

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Fest’Napuan2008 will take place from the 9th until the 12th of October.

As usual, Thursday will be a local string band night, Friday and Saturday will feature electrified “pop” music, including all overseas acts, and Sunday will be the ‘Zion Fest’ featuring Christian music.

The committee is currently negotiating with various overseas artists including indigenous Australian groups, New Caledonia’s “Vameley”, and “Katchafire” and “Fat Freddy’s Drop” from New Zealand. An Australian troupe of female folk musicians including Sam Burke will run workshops in conjunction with Wan Smolbag, and her band “Sam Burke and the Wifeys” will perform at the festival. Many of the big-name local bands will be participating, including Diomega, Kalja Riddim Klan, Alme System, XX Squad, Aimos Youth, Amel'oza, Eraso, Tefanu, Nauten, and Diomegas.

ABC’s Radio Australia is once again looking to broadcast the event live to the region and Radio Vanuatu and Television Blong Vanuatu will also be doing some live broadcasting nationally.

The Fest’Napuan is a free event for the public. In terms of numbers of people attending, the annual four-day Fest’Napuan outdoor music concert is the biggest event of any kind in Vanuatu.

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