An early start due to the public holiday meant a sparse room at the start of Ruby Boots’ set but by its conclusion the room had filled considerably. Back in town after a year in Nashville, she started off tentatively with a new song, from her forthcoming album and what a superb song it was, … Continue reading
It feels like the week of The Morrisons around here. With their new self-titled album garnering great reviews they’re back in Sydney for their album launch this Sunday night (March 12th) at Newtown Social Club with guests Andy Golledge Band and Women’s Auxiliary Choir plus I’ll be spinning folk and alt-country tunes between sets. In fact … Continue reading
The Morrisons have been a mainstay of the local Sydney Americana scene for a number of years now. They’ve played headline shows, supports, festivals and performed special tributes such as their acclaimed Brother Where Art Thou shows. Now they’ve finally released their debut, self-titled album and it both cements their status as a highly accomplished group … Continue reading
Jason Walker doesn’t play much with his full band so this was a chance to hear songs from his recently released new album All-Night Ghost Town, fleshed out with drums, bass and lead guitar – with Walker himself on electric. They sounded fantastic too, tight yet still with that alt-country looseness that gave them a … Continue reading
After last year’s cancelled Sydney leg of the Out On The Weekend festival it was always unlikely we’d get another chance in 2016 but we do still get the consolation prize of some fine headline shows by the various artists from the Melbourne event. Callum Wylie had the task of serenading the slowly arriving punters. … Continue reading
Love Police have a knack for booking repeat tours that build up a local audience for supremely talented artists. In the past they’ve worked with Justin Townes Earle and Robert Ellis. This tour showcased two musicians who have been relatively frequent visitors, though not in a solo capacity. Yet again Love Police have hosted one … Continue reading
In the absence of active duty from Sydney band Little Bastard, the various members have pursued solo projects (they kind of already did anyway) and relatively new group The Daphne Rawling Band, led by Ross Tipper features a few members of the rag-tag LB collective, as well as a couple of Cruisin’ Deuces. The punk-ish … Continue reading
This was a public holiday with reduced trading hours which meant an early start time for the local support act Le Pie. Backed by a five-piece band, she was one part Kim Gordon, one part 60s girl group. Over a bed of indie rock they showed a fine stylistic range, especially on their set-closer which … Continue reading
This was an evening of three shades of solo performance, three acoustic guitars, three bewitching voices and a common thread of dark humour. Aucklander Seth Frightening serenaded the slow-filling room with his fascinating mix of spooky, atmospheric folk music. With an emotive and melancholically angelic voice he stepped out of the standard folk singer paradigm … Continue reading
In the absence of the cancelled Sydney leg of the Out On The Weekend festival it was up to the sideshows to show us what we were missing out on. What we got was a masterclass in playing from the OOTW house band led by the charismatic Robert Ellis. Their first set was backing Alabama’s … Continue reading
Ben Horder’s set started with some guitar issues and forgotten lyrics but that was quickly overcome and he set about delivering a batch of honest, observational songs that chronicled everyday life in Australia. With a style reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Tallest Man On Earth his set concluded with two thirds of the … Continue reading
Melbourne’s Lost Ragas set the scene early with a set that felt more low-key than some of their other recent shows but it was by no means any less captivating. Their sound was a widescreen take on soulful blues and country with flashes of Beatles-esque and 70s power pop. From tales of 1970s motorcycle daredevil … Continue reading
Josh T. Pearson used to conjure up fire and brimstone dramatics with his band Lift To Experience in the early 2000s but since then he has retreated into a solo career with one album and a reputation for intense and drawn out live performances of his songs. With the audience sprawled and seated across the … Continue reading
James Thomson opened proceedings with a strong set that showcased songs from his forthcoming album Cold Moon as well as a brace of covers including songs by Blaze Foley and Jimmie Rodgers. Thomson is a master of understated blues-based country and showed his ability to capture the audience’s attention with evocative lyrics, wonderful finger-picking and … Continue reading
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