“Jenfest” is being held between 1-8pm, Sunday 23rd July 2023 at The Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood as a tribute to Jennifer (Jenny) Ross: singer, film producer, independent woman, friend and loving mother. Jenfest is a chance for everyone who knew Jenny, or was touched by her presence or her work, to celebrate her life - tragically cut short by cancer in May this year. Proceeds from the event will directly support Jenny’s son, Cody.

About Jenny:

Jenny was a singer, music teacher and a member of the acapella groups “The Henna Headed Love Babies” and “Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar.” Jenny also led her own jazz ensemble “Miss Honey and her Kings of Swing.” In later years, Jenny switched her focus from performing to photography, web design and her main passion - filmmaking. Jenny produced a prolific, rich and diverse portfolio of short films, music videos and a feature length documentary. As principal of Ten Speed Films, her first film, “Elevator” was a finalist and won Best Actor at the 2012 Tropfest short film festival in New York. Subsequent works included “Roominations on Homelessness” which explored the complexity and hardship facing homeless people in the state of Victoria, “Ride On” which focuses on four founders of modern Skateboarding in Australia and “Friday on my Mind”, a tongue in cheek music video starring well-known Australian comedian Elliot Goblet. “A Common Goal” details the experience of an apprentice tradesperson heading to Cambodia to help construct an arts school, “Hardest Night” is a suspense thriller set in rural Australia, while “Izzy” is an expose on the life of Texan Voodoobilly singer “Izzy Cox.” Jenny also filmed and directed music videos for Owen Campbell, Garry Gray, Nikki Nicholls, Powder Monkeys and Vicious Circle.

In 2022 Jenny released her first full length feature film “AGE OF RAGE - The Australian Punk Revolution", a documentary capturing the essence of Australian punk music and youth subculture from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. The film screened to sold out cinemas at film festivals throughout Australia and overseas.

The Bands
All artists performing at Jenfest have a personal connection to Jenny and represent a broad selection of much loved genres from Jen's broad musical taste:

The Breadmakers - Melbourne underground garage rock icons who have been bringing their hip shakin’, toe tappin’, blues inspired tune train since 1989. BYO dancing shoes! Jenny’s dear friend Davern White, formerly of the Bo-Weevils and original vocalist of The Breadmakers, will make a special guest appearance on the night.

Fun Again! - Featuring members of iconic 80’s hardcore punk bands Bored!, Stalag 13, Civil Dissident, Massappeal, Arm the Insane and Permanent Damage. Fun Again! play classic punk songs from the 70’s and 80’s, including material from their own bands. As a special dedication and a rare treat, Fun Again! will perform a Civil Dissident song not heard live for 30 years, plus crowd favourites from Depression, End Result and Vicious Circle, featuring the original vocalists of those bands. Drummer and brother Dave Ross introduced Jenny to punk music in the early 80’s. Jenny’s immersion in the Melbourne punk scene helped spark the idea for Age of Rage….

Nikki Nicholls - A Melbourne based singer and veteran of the Australian music industry who has performed on television and stage with everyone from John Farnham to Suzi Quatro, Stevie Wonder, Australian Crawl, Renee Geyer and Kylie Minogue, to name just a few. Nikki will perform a collection of her own favourite songs and original material. In 2014, Jenny directed the video for Nikki’s single “Bridesmaid” and a lasting friendship was formed.

Son of Tyrnaround - Gavin Gray and Pete Fidler blazed a wild trail during the 80’s & 90’s as members of former Melbourne psychedelic outfit Tyrnaround and were good friends with avid fan Jenny. Son of Tyrnaround is a one-time spinoff project that features a surprise guest guitarist. This gifted trio are massive fans of The Beatles; their love of the fab four oozes from their pores. Son of Tyrnaround will showcase some of their favourite Beatles songs and keep this party firing on all cylinders.

Melynda von Wayward as “The Wayward Woman'' - an edgy, punk inspired singer will open proceedings with a track from her freshly published collection of short, sharp songs of reflective angst from her own lived experience. Melynda is a punk archivist of the Melbourne punk scene 1977-1987, authored a photo book Punk: A Photographic Journey 2004 - 2007 and curated the exhibitions Punk Journey: St Kilda and Beyond (2014) and St. Kilda’s Alright - the Fred Negro Experience (2017). Jenny and Melynda’s chance meeting more than a decade ago immediately generated mutual respect and encouragement, a shared vision and collaborative support for each other's creative projects.

Special Guests
Some of Jenny’s close friends and counterparts will pay tribute to Jenny throughout the night and Peter Kohn, aka “Pete the Chef” will emcee the evening. Peter was the bassist and singer of 80’s punk band Extremes. Peter featured in The Age of Rage…. along with a number of others appearing on stage during Jenfest.

More special guests will be announced as the event draws nearer.

Tickets, Fundraising and Merchandise

Jenfest tickets are available from Eventbrite.com.au. Presale $28 +BF or $35 on the door. People unable to attend the event or who would like to offer further financial support, can donate via Jenny’s GoFundMe page (details to be announced). A small selection of merchandise will be available for sale as a tangible memory of Jenny.

Links

Jennifer Ross
Ten Speed Films - www.tenspeedfilms.com
Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/jenniferross67

Age of Rage - The Australian Punk Revolution
Website: https://www.australianpunk.com
Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@ozpunkfilm
Trailer: https://youtu.be/9k_B51lUhwQ

The Breadmakers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063488799374
Bandcamp: https://thebreadmakers.bandcamp.com/

Fun Again!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FunAgainband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fun_again_band_/

Nikki Nicholls
Webste: www.nikkinicholls.com.au
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nikkivocals
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.nicholls.sing
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkivocals/

Son of Tyrnaround
Tyrnaround Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064146818079

The Wayward Woman
Website: https://www.punkjourney.com/
Music: https://thewaywardwoman.bandcamp.com/

Pete the Chef
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PetetheChef

Event Partners

Jenfest organisers would like to acknowledge the following sponsors and thank them for their generous support:

The Bendigo Hotel - https://www.bendigohotel.com.au/
Desert Highways - https://www.deserthighways.com/
Fixation Brewing Co - https://fixationbrewing.com.au/
Plakkit Posters - http://plakkit.com/
Malocchio Hard Seltzer - https://www.malocchiodrinks.com.au/
Northside Merchandise - https://www.northsidemerch.com.au/