Dear Port Fairy Folk Festival Friend,

It is with great pleasure and an absolute privilege to announce that Port Fairy Folk Festival will be presenting Melanie EXCLUSIVELY in 2019, the year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the mother of all festivals, Woodstock.

Melanie first shot to stardom with her unforgettable appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The performance prompted the now common phenomenon of signalling an artist for an encore by holding up some form of light (first it was a candle, which merged into lighters, then flashlights and now mobile phones). In her hit song, Lay Down (Candles in the Rain), Melanie shared her experience of when the audience lifted up their candles in the rain during her set at Woodstock.

Melanie’s singles Brand New Key (Roller Skate Song), Lay Down (Candles in the Rain), Peace Will Come, Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma and Ruby Tuesday have all achieved chart success with Brand New Key reaching #1 and remaining in the charts for 18 weeks in 1971. In the USA, Melanie has had 13 Top 40 hits, including 3 #1 hits.

A true pioneer for female musicians, Melanie’s long list of achievements boasts a number of firsts including:

• The first female performer to have three Top 40 hits concurrently: Brand New Key, The Nickel Song and Ring the Living Bell.
• The first solo/pop/rock artist ever to appear before the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• The first solo/pop/rock artist ever to appear at Carnegie Hall.
• The first solo/pop/rock artist ever to appear at The Metropolitan Opera House.
• The first solo female artist who sold out the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

Melanie’s list of accolades and acclaim certainly is an extensive one, but as the New York Times suggests, “MELANIE is an Artist who has no need to ‘LAY DOWN’ everything she has done to take her place in Music History!”

A new generation was exposed to Melanie with the release of Miley Cyrus’ cover of Look What They Done To My Song, Ma. A year later Miley Cyrus invited Melanie to be part of her Backyard Sessions and together they recorded a live version of Look What They Done To My Song, Ma and Peace Will Come.