THE Tathra Hotel, jutting out into the Pacific Ocean on a magnificent headland and consistently rated online as the best located hotel in Australia, is the setting for an enticing musical event this weekend.

As a prequel to the second annual Headland Writers Festival coming up in late October, the zippy show, “Almost A Mirror”, is a collaboration between Melbourne author Kirsten Krauth and top musicians, including Canberra-raised Mikel Simic (Mikelangelo) and Candelo’s Heath Cullen.

“We are excited to feature such a strong line up of regionally-based musicians from NSW and Victoria,” says Andrew  Gray, CEO of South East Arts.

It’s billed as an “edgy” mash-up of live music and storytelling, based on Kirsten Krauth’s popular novel, Almost A Mirror”, named in “The Guardian’s 20 Best Australian Books of 2020”. Her accompanying podcast series revolves around Australian songs and includes interviews with the late Chris Bailey, Ed Kuepper, Tex Perkins, Mick Harvey and The Triffids.

Hosted by the proactive cultural organisation, South East Arts, umbrella to the Headland Writers Festival, the show was part of the inaugural festival in 2021 which I attended, performed by  a local band and actor Patrick Dickson,  but this development involves a new line-up of musos and the author herself.

The musical directors for the show are Zoe Barry, 2021 winner of the ARIA Music Teacher Award, and Inga Liljestrom, experimental vocalist and composer.

There’s a strong narrative, as characters Mona, Benny and Jimmy are drawn into the orbit of the Crystal Ballroom and the post-punk scene of ’80s Melbourne, a world that includes Nick Cave, the pop icons of “Countdown” and Dodge, a fictional photographer pushing his art to the edge.

With the promise of good music, nostalgia, the best view in the country and first-rate hospitality, it’s a no-brainer for the coming weekend.

“Almost A Mirror”, Tathra Hotel, May 20-21. Book here.

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