If you’re going to be early to anything this week in Fremantle, make sure you’re early to Hidden Treasures – Fremantle’s winter music series. Otherwise, you might miss out on a seat for this year’s very special treat: a gig on the Fremantle Tram.

There was a palpable sense of anticipation as we waited outside the Buffalo Club to board the first ever Hidden Treasures tram. The tram is not very big, so lots of people missed out on that first trip.

We took off into the night with a rumble and a lurch. We didn’t have far to go – soon, parked down by the Fishing Boat Harbour, the lights glowing on the water, this little venue came alive.

Lucy Peach, whom I first saw perform at the Fremantle Festival event Songs of the Suburbs, Songs of the Sea last year, was an ideal performer to kick off the tram sessions.

Lucy is a storyteller, and in the intimate venue of the tram, with winter weather lashing at the window, her stories carried extra-special weight and warmth.

Four songs and stories and a few laughs later, it was time to head back into town for the rest of the night. By the time we got back, the West End was in full swing. With the fire roaring in the drum on the corner of High and Pakenham, with a food van ready for the hungry among us, with beats to make you dance even on a weeknight… Hidden Treasures is well and truly out of the shadows and embracing a new season.

Thank goodness for winter in Freo!

You can watch and experience the tram session here. This article was first published on Fremantle Shipping News on 12 July 2017.