David Bridie has been pushing boundaries in the Australian music scene for many years. The award winning songwriter and composer has enjoyed a distinguished career as one of Australia’s most innovative artists. Whether as an international soundtrack composer; a leading expert on and producer of Melanesian music; as a uniquely Australian songwriter and piano player; and as singer with bands Not Drowning, Waving and My Friend the Chocolate Cake – Bridie has certainly stamped his mark. His songs are intelligent observations of the Australian experience, ranging from wry – and often bleak – comments on the politics of daily life to the beauty of a simple love song.
This magnetic 4-piece have established themselves as one of the most revered and beloved bands in the Melbourne music scene. Their songs are mesmerising and immersive: creating layers of sonic electric guitar textures around deep driving bass grooves, with echoes from the Badlands. With the recent addition of ARIA awarding winning guitarist/producer Shane O’Mara,the band has a dazzling energy that captivates both intimate rooms and expansive festivals. These four unhurried explorers of sound look for light in the dark, quiet corners of song. “Deja Vu” received “Album of the Week” from both SMH and The Age. RRR FM: “The groove is in the spaces in between. They allow the music to breathe with possibilities, their supple songs insinuate themselves into the mind.”
Irish dynamite Wallis Bird’s expressive vocals and driving guitar rhythms are being compared to artists like Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple or the young Janis Joplin. Her exceptional voice moves from delicate whispers to explosive power songs, while her music fuses elements of traditional folk music, blues and funk with an energetic handmade rock sound. Now based in Berlin, in the last 7 years Bird has played over 600 shows in Europe and won two Irish Music Awards (Meteor award). Her refreshingly honest, passion and self-effacing manner has endeared her to audiences worldwide.
“Frank and endearingly tender, a tsunami of emotion… Magnificent.”
~ MOJO, UK
“The sheer visceral energy of Wallis Bird could kick-start an entire economy.”
~ Irish Times
“It’s her humour and bold honesty that makes Bird so special.”
~ The Guardian, UK
This 8-piece ska band from Amsterdam explodes onto the stage, delivering their super-charged shows with zeal, heart and soul. Performing like their lives depended on it, they take audiences by storm, whipping themselves and all within earshot into a joyous frenzy aimed straight at flailing limbs and dancing feet!
First Australian tour ~ March 2017, performing at Port Fairy Folk Festival and Blue Mountains Music Festival.
One of Ireland’s most loved and leading artists, this extraordinary spinner of song weaves his soulful melodies through half-remembered moments and dreams long-treasured. Larrikin and poet, his songs are infused with wit, the yearning of history and the patience of mortality; the balm of tenderness and the breath of hope. His debut album, “Since Kyabram” was nominated for three Meteor Awards, including “Best Male Artist”, “Best New Album”, and “Best Folk/Trad Artist”, and achieved double Platinum. A prolific writer and story-teller, his song-cycle entitled “Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine” is a landmark masterpiece. His latest album “Arrivals” (April 2021) sees O’Rourke present the most emotionally raw and affecting album of his career.
“A timeless troubadour with a voice that breaks through all your defences and gets to the heart of the matter.” ~ Glen Hansard.
This Chicago-based blues and roots music duo makes an unforgettable impression. Their jaw-dropping virtuosity creates more layers of sound and feeling than can be summoned by most full bands. Joe Filisko and Eric Noden are ultra-rhythmic performers with a wonderful synergy on stage. Their high-energy live shows are both dramatic and subtle. Their story-telling with harmonica, voice and resonator guitar is charming, moving and hilarious. Drawing on 1920s-40s American styles of blues, folk and ragtime, and influenced by blues legends Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Bill Broonzy, Joe and Eric’s captivating performances continue to delights audiences across the USA and Europe.
Rory McLeod is a British folk singer-songwriter. His career has included fire eater and circus clown, and his performances include storytelling in the tradition of the traveling minstrel or troubadour, and playing a wide range of instruments including guitar, harmonica, trombone and his personally-made stomp box. WOMAD UK have said: “With Rory McLeod, you get the music of the world in one suitcase… You can hear flamenco, calypso, blues and Celtic influences in his music, all wrapped together in an inimitable style”. Winner of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for “Best Live Act”.
Transforming tradition with vigour, curiosity, humour and spark, this trio from Prince Edward Island wielding bodhrán, acoustic guitar and violin plays seamless, polished, barrel-drum-tight, rhythmically innovative and wildly entertaining music. Singing in both French and English, they were awarded “World Music Recording of the Year” (2015) by East Coast Music Association, been nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and received “Roots-Traditional Album of the Year” (2012) from Music PEI. Their new album “Auprès du Poêle” (2016) weave old-school Acadian roots (Franco-Canadian) with Breton, Irish and Scottish tunes, filled with wicked grooves and cunning quirks, featuring both traditional and original songs.
