Young Henrys Small World Festival

Overview

Frontrunners in the ever-brewing (sorry) craft beer scene in Sydney, Young Henrys have banded together, drunk many a Newtowner and created their very own ode to the inner west, the Small World Festival. The brand new festival features some of Sydney's best local bands and culinary wizards on the bill; set to thrown down a day-long celebration of the vibrant cultural hub that is Sydney's inner west.

Scheduled for September, Small World promises to be the ultimate Sydney-centric festival, featuring music, food and the life force that inspired it all — beer — all proudly locally produced. The one-day festival will take over the beating heart of the inner west, Marrickville, the suburb where diversity is celebrated and enjoyed by locals. Marrickville remains the 17km stretch of land where you can pick up some authentic pho, take in some solid jazz tunes and enjoy the ambience of some of Sydney's sunniest cafes. Marrickville reps the essence of the inner west community, so it seems fitting to hold the festival along its beloved Jabez Street.

"The idea started to take shape during a conversation over a beer, as all good ideas do. We were talking about all the amazing things that people put into the world from the inner west," explain Oscar Preston-Stanley and Rich Adamson from Newtown's YH brewery. "The conversation steered towards music of course, and we were in agreement that the music of the inner west isn't celebrated as much as it deserves to be."

So who's playing? The music lineup has been handpicked by the Young Henrys crew, who are of the firm belief that music and beer should always be closely interlaced. Confirmed to headline the bill is legendary stoner rock band Tumbleweed (in tribute to their brother, bassist and friend Jay Curley), alongside garage-punk-pop trio Bloods, hip hop outfit True Vibenation, seven-strong Little Bastard, rascally rock and rollers The Snowdroppers as well as the beloved likes of Delta Riggs, Steve Smyth, The Upskirts, Pat Capocci, Royal Tennyson and Richard in Your Mind. Now that's a solid Sydney-heavy lineup.

Booze will be plentiful and varied — just how we like it. Brewed to perfection, Young Henrys will be serving their golden oldies alongside some intriguing newcomers. Of course, their exclusively local Newtowner Ale will be on offer, as will their crowd-pleasing Cloudy Cider.

Excitingly, the Young Henrys crew have expanded their horizons and brought something new to the table: gin. Festivalgoers will be among the first to try it. Makers have described the gin as "uniquely Australian, yet reminiscent of a classic London dry," and incorporates the combinations of juniper, oris root, Australian native bush tomato, pepperberry and Tasmanian grown hops to create a gin that is "both floral and dry, complex and smooth."

Food will be served up all day, with the cream of the inner west crop getting involved in the fun. Newtown's Bloodwood will be plating polenta and gorgonzola sauce and spice BBQ squid. Recently doubled-hatted Porteño will be cranking out homemade pork chorizo or blood sausage on a roll with BBQ peppers, onions and chimichurri. Newtown burger monarchs Mary's are offering the answer to the ol' "What's in a Mary's Burger?" question: three cuts of beef patties with cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato and their house special 'Mary's Sauce' topped with a savoury seasoned pickle. Finally, Marrickville's Cornersmith are serving up a seasonal spring salad, two cheese and pickle sandwich, toasted almonds with paprika and rosemary, a blood orange sparkling cordial and pear and macadamia brownies. Then there's traditional hand spun Levantine style icecream from Booza Icecream. Needless to say, you won't go hungry.

Art-wise, there'll be live demonstrations on the day from Local Artist Division (L.A. Division), a collective of some of the inner west's most talented artists including: Apeseven, Ben Brown, Glenno Smith, Keo Match, Mulga, Lachlan Bruce, Sindy Sin, UD3 and Warrick McMile. Then you'll just have to keep an eye out for roaming puppeteers by Umbrella Theatre.

This chilled out community festival will be held on September 20. Enjoy a crisp beer (or a spot of gin) in the sun, savour some local fare, take in some great local tunes and take a moment or two to appreciate the top notch cultural development that has come to define the inner west.

The Small World Festival will be held in Jabez Street in Marrickville on September 20.

Tickets are $59 +BF and $13 +BF for kids under 13 and can be purchased here.