Things were looking worrying for a moment there. MoFo, the monthly Sydney new-folk orientated night supported by the NSW Folk Federation, originally planned their May show for this Friday until one of the bands had to pull out due to other commitments. We thought they might cancel or at least try and reschedule. But instead they’ve announced not one but two nights of folk in Sydney in the next couple of weeks.
The MoFo show this Friday 11th May is going ahead as originally planned, upstairs at The Gaelic Club in Surry Hills, Sydney. On the bill will be two members of the new group Folklore, fresh from the Glen Innes Celtic Festival and the irrepressible abori: front man Steven Barnard in full solo mode.
Then next Wednesday 16th May MoFo will descend upon legendary Sydney venue The Basement in Circular quay for a night of rip-roaringly good music from bluegrass masters The Lurkers and the gypsy-jazz-folk fusion of Chaika (above).
The nights are each $20 on the door (with some concessions and packages available) and you can get more information via Facebook: Gaelic Club details here and Basement details here. Get out there and support live and local Australia folk music!
The one folk genre that really seems to have taken off in Australia over the last couple of years would have to be Bluegrass. Originating in the Appalachia region of the United States, Australian artists have taken to the genrelike a house on fire with new jam bands, string bands and pickers popping up all over the country.
Once associated with bearded old men plucking banjos and mandolins, the new Bluegrass (or New-Grass) scene in this country and overseas has seen a new generation of artists evolve (and in some cases subvert) the genre to create something very very exciting. These artists are not just confined to folk, country and bluegrass festivals either – you’d probably be surprised to find that many of them are emerging from the urban indie-music scene in our capital cities and performing at mainstream festivals or New-Grass specific events like the recent Jamgrass Festival in Melbourne. We thought we’d spotlight just a few of our favourite Australian bluegrass artists to get you acquainted with the genre – but keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg and there’s plenty more where this came from. Let’s get pickin’!
Davidson Brothers
Hamish and Lachlan Davidson (above) from Yinnar in south-eastern Victoria are the shining lights on the Australian bluegrass scene at the moment having picked up Golden Guitars, appeared at festivals around Australia and even appeared on Spicks and Specks. The Davidson Brothers have really been embraced by the country music scene in Australia (bluegrass is one of those genres championed by country and folk fans alike) so you’re more likely to catch them at Tamworth than you are at The National – although they are scheduled for Port Fairy this year so that’s definitely not a hard and fast rule.
The Davidson Brothers, like most of their Australian contemporaries, are pretty traditional in their approach to bluegrass sticking with the tried and true instrumentation (guitar, banjo, mando) and singing with an American inflection. They’re also pretty savvy when it comes to social media (which you kind of have to be when you’re not based fulltime in a capital city) and we highly recommend following them on Twitter to keep up with everything that’s going on in the bluegrass and country world – @davidsonbrother
The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats are the first of a number of Melbourne bands on our list. We don’t know what’s in the water down there but we hope people keep drinking it. Originally from the Mornington Peninsula, The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats play frantic, jam style bluegrass music which contains that ever important element – the washboard.
If you cast your eyes over the lineup for just about any festival in 2012 (Cygnet Folk Festival, Illawarra Folk Festival, Blue Mountains Music Festival, etc) you’ll probably come these guys are they appear to be everywhere at the moment. And as far as we’re concerned that’s a good thing.
WA’s entry into the Australian new-grass scene comes to us in the form of Perth six piece The Seals. Prolific buskers in their home town and bluegrass evangelists everywhere else The Seals combine guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass and drums/percussion along with vocals from all five members (listen to their track “High” and tell us you don’t imagine the entire band crowded around a single mic Bill Monroe style).
The Seals have put together a lovely little mini-doco on themselves that you can watch below. Given how entrenched these guys are in the burgeoning new-grass scene don’t be surprised to start seeing them pop up everywhere – even if it’s just busking in your local mall.
Another Melbourne outfit is Mustered Courage (who seriously have one of the best band names going) whose mission is “to bridge a gap between traditional bluegrass music and the Australian alternative music scene”. While most of the music that Mustered Courage plays is original they are probably best known for their covers including Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” and Boys II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You”.
Mustered Courage released their debut, self titled album in September 2011 and toured it in Victoria and NSW. They’ve managed to get themselves some triple j airplay recently (which we guess helps them in their mission) and are about to hit Tamworth for the country music festival.
Timber and Steel have been promoting Sydney based subversive bluegrass trio The Lurkers since we first launched and there was no way we were going to complete this list without us. The Lurkers are the point at which political activism and banjo picking meet – in fact the legend is they first got together after discovering a shared love of bluegrass while attending a climate festival. So much of The Lurkers’ music is tied to their political ideals from Pretty Boy Floyd’s graffitied guitar (sporting the Woody Guthrie inspired “This Machine Kills Facists”), to the lyrics of their songs right through to the gigs they play which take place both at festivals and climate rallies around Australia and the world.
The Lurkers slowed down for a moment last year following on from the birth of Desert Rat Shorty’s first child but yellow biodiesel-powered Lurker-van can once again be seen parked in festival camp sites and hooning around Sydney’s inner west with their second album Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain? in tow.
The ultimate jamband the Merri Creek Pickers see themselves as The Grateful Dead of the Australian bluegrass scene. The band have incorporated the very un-bluegrass electric guitar into their band and as a result regularly venture into country, folk and rock during their jams. But at they’re essence they are (as their name suggests) pickers and very fine ones at that.
The Merri Creek Pickers will be joining the likes of Justin Townes Earle and Lanie Lane at this year’s Boogie Festival which they’ve got to be pretty stoked about. They’re also regularly seen around their hometown of Melbourne along with a few other names on this list – track them down and check them out.
Jordie Lane described The Perch Creek Family Jugband’s new album Tall Tales as “A beautiful example of great bluegrass and ol’ time standards coming from this quirky Australian ‘real’ family band” when he chose it as his top album of 2011 in Timber and Steel’s poll. The Perch Creek Family Jugband have created this myth around them that often makes it hard to separate fact from fiction – apparently they include Australia’s top one-legged saw player, are all brothers and sisters despite their ever increasing numbers and their dancing skills are a direct result of being forced to dance on hot coals as children.
Speaking of children it’s not uncommon to see the vocal chores of The Perch Family Jugband shared with adults and kids alike. They’ve become a staple at folk festivals around the country, have appeared on Spicks and Specks and have toured extensively overseas. Fitting somewhere between a string band, a jugband and a dance troop The Perch Creek Family Jugband have to be seen to be believed
The new-grass scene in Sydney has become synonymous with one name in the last year: Bellyache Ben. Along with his band The Steamgrass Boys, Bellyache Ben has been holding court in Newtown’s Madame Fling Flong on Wednesday night’s where they tear the place up each and every week. Bellyache Ben and the Steamgrass Boys has a a whopping 7 members (and even more on a good night) covering everything from banjo to resonator to dobro to mandolin to fiddle to washboard.
They’ve just launched their self titled debut album and have been announced for the Blue Mountains Music Festival so it looks like 2012′s going to be a big year for Bellyache Ben and the Steamgrass Boys. We have no word whether their Madame Fling Flong residency is set to return this year but we’re hoping it does – it’s just what the Sydney bluegrass scene needs.
What makes new-grass so subversive is that it breaks so many of the “rules” set out by bluegrass traditionalists. One of the biggest no-nos on the traditional scene is incorporating other musical styles and songs into the genre – something new-grass artists have been doing from the very beginning. Sydney quartet The Pigs are probably best known for their bluegrass cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, the video of which (featuring John Williamson) has garnered them more than 200,000 views of facebook. But The Pigs are more than just a one trick pony and they have a whole back catalogue of hilarious bluegrass covers and originals.
The blue chesty-bonds wearing boys completely a residency at Sydney’s Empire Hotel in November last year and have already been announced on the lineup of a number of festivals in 2012 including Port Fairy, Corinbank and The Northern Beaches Music Festival – it’s going to be a very big year for The Pigs.
Obviously this is not an extensive list and there are hundreds more Australian new-grass players out there. If you’re up for more banjo and mado pickin’ head to The Australian Bluegrass Blog or Jambands Australia and get exploring. We hope you’ve liked our little slice of bluegrass heaven.
The northern side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been quietly developing a wonderful little folk scene all of its very own over the last little while. While much of Sydney’s music scene is focused in and around the inner city, venues and groups like The Shack, Fairlight Folk, The Manly Fig and Humph Hall have been turning the Northern Beaches into one of the most exciting locations for contemporary and traditional folk, roots and acoustic music in the city. And these groups are pooling their collective folk resources and presenting the Northern Beaches Music Festival this February.
Tickets for the festival are $60 online or $75 at the gate for the full three days (with a bunch of different ticketing options available). Check out the official Northern Beaches Music Festival website for more details.
The Gulgong Folk Festival, held each year in Gulgong, Central West NSW, has a reputation for attracting some of the finest folk acts in the country and finding that perfect mix between established artists and the hottest up-and-comers. And with the release of the 2012 program it looks as though next year is going to be as amazing as ever.
The Gulgong Folk Festival will be held from the 6th to the 8th January next year. Check out the official web site for more information. The full lineup for the festival (so far) is below:
Bill Chambers, Anne Kirkpatrick, Daniel Champagne, Allan Caswell, Ged, Tinker, Mike & Michael, Senor Cabrales, The Yearlings, Brendan Gallagher, Genevieve Chadwick, Big Erle, Matt Southon, Caitlin Harnett, Cletis Carr, Richard Lawson, Racz and Waters, Bryan Estepa. Marcus Holden & Fiddlers Feast, Shane Flew, April Maze, Pat Drummond, The Lurkers, Summerland Kings, Sophie Hutchings, Nigel Wearne, Stringy Bark Bush Band, Brothers Of Matt, Tangled Weed, Simon Bradley Trio, Bryan Estepa, Kurtis Gentle, Arch Bishop, Brothers 3, Blue Ruins, Faye Blais, Gerard Gilet, Jack Pledge, Des Kelly, King of Congo Congo, Ecopella, Fin and Gen, Grandmaster Monk, Jimmy Westwood, Blind Date, McGee, Robin Binks, Hussy Hicks, Ben Alexander Cox, Blowflyz, Luke Watts, Julie Bishop, David Knight, Spike Flynn, RAPT, Shes Taken Empires, Jess Holland and Tomas Hamilton
The second single from the upcoming album Padlock and Chain by Sydneysiders The Lurkers is “Passivist”, a Guthrie-esque, stripped back number commenting on the apathy of the passive consumer in today’s society. We really the contrast between this and the high energy bluegrass of the first single “Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?” and we’re really excited to get our hands on the album.
It’s been a while coming but it looks as though we’re finally going to a new album from Sydney’s very own subversive-bluegrass trio The Lurkers. Titled Padlock and Chain (after the first single “Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?” we’re guessing) the album will be launched as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival program this September.
The launch party kicks off at The Red Rattler Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney on the 17th September. Supports are yet to be announced but given the company The Lurkers usually keep we can be guaranteed of an awesome night of music, all for just $20.
The full program for the Sydney Fringe Festival is here. And if you haven’t downloaded the first single “Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?” follow this link and get listening!
Sydney’s favourite subversive bluegrass trio The Lurkers have very busy boys and girls of late. Not only have they managed to pop out a brand new mini-Lurker but they’ve also recorded a new album, confirmed themselves for a bunch of shows and festivals around the country and been arrested for protesting against the coal industry.
According to The Lurkers’ blog Lurkerlust, Weary Hobo (the band’s bass player), was involved in a non-violent direct action protest last year that saw him chaining himself to a coal train line, an action that subsequently had him arrested and charged (for which it seems he has since been acquitted). The whole experience spawned the wonderful new single from The Lurkers “Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?”, the first off their forthcoming album.
“Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?” can be downloaded from The Lurkers’ Unearthed page and if you leave a review they’re even offering to send you the full album absolutely free. Sounds pretty good eh? Have a listen to “Who’s Got a Padlock and Chain?” below and then head over to Unearthed and tell the band what you think. Can’t wait for the album guys!
A couple of weeks ago, over at our Facebook Page, we congratulated The Lurkers on the birth their baby boy (well to two of the three Lurkers are the parents anyway), and while it’s exciting to tell you all that littlest Lurker Griffin is already out an about attending climate change rallies and rehearsing with the band, it’s even more exciting news that The Lurkers are hitting the road AND relelasing a new album!
With their new album well in the works and launch date of 17 September at Marrickville’s Red Rattler, and with gigs confirmed for the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival and the Gulgong Folk Festival, we’re quietly predicting a huge summer for The Lurkers. I bet it’s all due to new Lurker Griffin, he must be a party animal keeping them up all night
If folk music is an ongoing evolution of traditional forms to reflect contemporary culture then Sydney’s Tapestries of Sound would have to be at the forefront of the Australian scene. Blending diverse musical traditions such as Indian ragas, Middle Eastern microtones and Celtic melodies Tapestries of Sound represent the melting pot that is Sydney, and Australia for that matter.
This Thursday Tapestries of Sound are releasing their debut album, titled Unsung Yarns, at The Vanguard in Sydney. To help them wet the albums head will be Timber and Steel favourites and bluegrass masters The Lurkers and the experimental folk of Packwood. To get an idea what to expect from Unsung Yarns head over to the Tapestries of Sound Bandcamp and sample the album for yourself. And then make sure you get down to the gig this Thursday.
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