LOOKING TO THE PAST Folk singer, country troubadour and roots aficionado Pokey LaFarge had a bumper year in 2013 that included a new album on Jack White’s record label and a calendar overflowing with live shows and TV appearances. On the eve of his first Australian tour LaFarge talks with Chris Familton about his formative … Continue reading
The massive worldwide success of The Lumineers has had them on the road for over a year but now a break in the weather is in sight Neyla Pakarek tells Chris Familton. With a European tour in its closing stages and a pause from touring over the Christmas period, Neyla Pakarek is already looking toward … Continue reading
Ahead of his Australian tour with Tift Merritt you can check out the 20 minute set Jason Isbell played last September at radio station KEXP in Seattle, WA. Songlist: Flying Over Water Live Oak Different Days Stockholm Continue reading
by Chris Familton Johnny Green celebrated his 60th birthday with an opening set that also featured his son Hank Green on guitar. With The Detonators’ drummer as a late ring-in the band eased the arriving crowd into the world of country blues, rock n roll and honky tonk. Green’s laconic voice and laid-back demeanor made … Continue reading
It’s been another superb year of Americana releases both here in Australia and from around the world. It also feels like a well balanced collection of great music that makes up out twenty favourite albums of 2013 with alt-country rocking guitars, sensitive songwriters, both male and female, as well as a spread of ages that … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Two years on from Jordie Lane’s well received second album Blood Thinner, the Melbournian returns from some overseas jaunts with a new EP of warm, bucolic folk and alt-country songs that further enhance his stock as a quality singer/songwriter. Lane is one of those contemporary singers who sounds very much like the … Continue reading
Mark Moldre has released another video clip as part of his mission to release one for every track on his excellent 2013 LP An Ear To The Earth. Gloriously shot in black & white by Darren Cross at Bernstein Studios, the song is the tale of a lost soul, lyrically magnificent, poetic and rich in … Continue reading
by Chris Familton New Zealander (now Melbourne-based) Marlon Williams opened the evening with an impressive set of originals and covers (Townes Van Zandt). Williams’ voice is a beautiful instrument capable of soaring falsetto, yodel hiccups and he used it to near perfection singing songs of tear-stained loss and heartache. One in particular, State Hospital, was … Continue reading
Jep and Dep are Sydney duo Jessica Cassar and Darren Cross who have been working up a reputation as a wonderful live act over the last year or so. I’ve caught them a couple of times now and they really do possess that special musical connection and that balance of sweetness and grit that typifies … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Messrs Peno and Salmon reconvene for their third record under The Darling Downs moniker and as befits their general proclivity for exploring different musical forms they’ve gone and taken another sonic diversion, this time into 60s-tinged folk. Of course them being them they don’t restrict themselves to just folk. There are strains … Continue reading
Fanny Lumsden has today released the video clip for her recent single Sea Elephant School, filmed at Tooma in the Southern NSW region of the Upper Murray. It is a wonderful video with footage of Lumsden and her sisters riding horses across the landscape amid shots of the band and various ephemera. Upon the release of … Continue reading
Coming up on Sunday October 27th is an afternoon/evening of Sydney (and Newcastle) artists covering some of their favourite country songs plus they’ll play a few of their own. Inner Western 2 (FB Event) is happening at the Petersham Bowling Club from 2pm. Ahead of the show we’ve asked some of the artists appearing to choose a favourite country cover … Continue reading
On its 10th anniversary Secretly Canadian are reissuing a deluxe edition of Songs: Ohia’s (Jason Molina (R.I.P.)) excellent album Magnolia Electric Co. Molina would go on to use the album title as his band name. Available from November 12th Pre-order Here Track listing (bonus 10″ and t-shirt with the deluxe bundle) LP 1 1. Farewell Transmission 2. I’ve … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Surprisingly this is the first collaborative album from Lo Carmen and her pianist father Peter Head and hopefully it won’t be the last, such is its endearing mix of country soul and late night jazz. Primarily the songs are built on Head’s elegant and melodious playing and Carmen’s playful purr of a … Continue reading
Laura Coates is one half of the Australian duo The Weeping Willows who visited the USA earlier this month for the Americana Music Festival in Nashville TN. Laura has kindly written a piece for us describing the enviable event from the point of view of a visiting fan and participatory musician. Andrew Wrigglesworth and I … Continue reading
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