Phil Garland (NZ)
Phil Garland is New Zealand’s foremost performing folklorist and living Folk Legend. He is an outstanding performer - singer, songwriter, storyteller, historian & collector with an extraordinary fund of folklore, wonderful songs and tall stories. His performances are ‘thoroughly entertaining ... his songs were like old friends waiting to be heard for the first time……beautiful descriptive songs which took you back to the time and place.’ (June Nichols – Southern Rag 2001) ‘His songs have catchy choruses which the audience could easily pick up and sing along.’ (Julie Dendle – Brisbane Folk Rag, September 2004). Phil has a legion of fans in Australia and this will likely be his last tour so don’t miss this ‘must see’ performer.
Allan Johnson (Scot)
Scottish Folksinger & Songwriter (Guitar, Bouzouki, Octave Mandolin).
Allan Johnston's songs are strongly influenced by the Scots and Irish traditions and over forty years of participating in the Scottish folk scene.
Living in Edinburgh since 1971, Allan was introduced to the scene through Ayr Folk Club in the late Sixties and, his father being from Coleraine in County Derry, his frequent visits to Ireland since childhood have led to Ireland being the inspiration for many of his songs.
An accomplished singer and guitarist, Allan Johnston's songwriting talents are rapidly gaining recognition with Irish band Craobh Rua having recorded and adopted his song The Shore 'Neath The Tide as their band anthem, and the late Paddie Bell of Corries fame having included a number of his songs in her repertoire.
Peter Hawkes
Pete Hawkes is one of the most important figures in contemporary roots music due to his melding of different styles, his capacity to write anything from delta blues to stunningly complex orchestral music and due to his radically different conceptual approach to recording.
Now considered by many of his contempories as one of the great composers of his time, not only due to his capacity to write evocative and stunningly beautiful emotional music, but more so due to his unusual ability, unlike most writers, to write innovative, often ground breaking music in all musical genres.
Kobya (Moz)
Kobya is a gifted performer singer song writer and versatile multi-instrumentalist, He mixes roots (Marrabenta Mozambique Popular dance Music) & reggae occasionally throwing in some lovers rock to create his own original blend. He tells his story with grace and ebullience, covering social and environmental issues, love, war and the despair of his fellow Mozambicans while celebrating life.
The salt of the Earth, KOBYA learnt how to abstract his craft, turning pain to joy. His music puts a smile on your face and makes you want to dance!
The Lurkers
With a line-up of banjo, double bass, guitar and occasional mandolin and harmonica, The Lurkers are influenced musically by American hillbilly and old timey music, and influenced politically by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill, Pete Seeger and Berthold Brecht.
They draw on the tradition of artists and musicians who use their music for political agitation. All three Lurkers share the songwriting, which means every set has a variety of styles from blues to hillbilly to mountain music or traditional folk. All three Lurkers sing, sharing lead vocals and using the close harmonies common in bluegrass.
The Lurkers are based in Sydney, Australia.
Stiff Gins
Stiff Gins are one of Australia’s best known and most loved Indigenous acts. These two women combine their stunning harmonies and wicked humour to transport you to a world of joy, spirit and song.
Stiff Gins are Nardi Simpson & Kaleena Briggs. In the 10 years since their first meeting at the Eora Centre in Redfern, Stiff Gins have performed at cultural institutes in New Caledonia, Vietnam, Spain, been part of cultural exchanges to Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, UAE & Cyprus, played festivals and shows throughout Canada, the US, Ireland and performed extensively throughout Australia.
Stiff Gins, through harmony & song, are reclaiming a derogatory term for Aboriginal women, instead declaring its meaning as proud, passionate & talented.
http://www.myspace.com/wwwstiffginsnet
http://www.stiffgins.net
Spirit of the Glen
"Follow the Spirit" - Glen Innes based Skye McKenny and Col Pike share a life-long love of folk music and in 2002 came together to form Spirit of the Glen. Their 3rd CD was released in May 2009.
The duo bring great harmonies and a good selection of instruments to their extensive repertoire which includes traditional, original, celtic and contempory songs and tunes as well as those of the folk revival era. They also enjoy dragging in tunes from other less obvious sources, especially from the 60's and 70's, and applying their own treatments. The music of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and the Rolling Stones, to name just a few, has all suffered this fate as has that of AC/DC!
Spirit of the Glen were Winners of The Australian Celtic Festival 2009 Triquetra Award.
http://www.spiritoftheglen.net
http://www.myspace.com/spiritoftheglendotnet
Peter Hicks
Peter Hicks is a folk singer and singer-songwriter very much in the tradition of the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. His songs have their roots in the everyday lives and experiences of everyday people, and in the issues of greatest concern to us all.
He sings about the environment, about the need for world peace and the causes of war. He sings about the globalisation of capital, how it concentrates more and more wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands, and how to resist it.
Luke R Davies
Luke Davies' home made three string tea tin guitar always gets a reaction from the audience, "That's just amazing. It's incredible for that sound to be coming out of that thing".
Luke R Davies is a Blues/Folk/Roots singer and songwriter whose songs reflect Australian culture and landscapes. Luke is a singer, guitar player and blues harmonica player.
He has played in a range of groups from hard driving Chicago style blues combos to very traditional acoustic blues, roots/folk music.
Helen Begley
Helen Begley, from Melbourne band Milk, is an award winning songwriter who sounds a little like she could be Johnny Cash's sister, Nick Cave's cousin or Tom Waits sister in law twice divorced. As soon as she picks up her guitar or straps on her banjo to play the room gets quiet and the story begins. Helen has built a reputation as a talented and respected Melbourne songwriter and performer best known as a member of Melbourne folk band Milk.
She has also penned original material for country singer Jody Galvin, singer/songwriter extraordinaire Carl Pannuzzo and actress/ songbird Penny Larkins. She is currently presenting solo shows with songs of murder and marriage, husbands and wives, urban cowboys and lonely brides which featured on her new solo album "The Bride".
Braemar
Based in Melbourne, Braemar, consisting of Eddie Lewis and Marc de Rijk, is undoubtedly one of Australia’s best Celtic duos delighting audiences around the country with an impressive performance resumé of classic Scottish and Irish songs. The duo is renowned for lavish harmonies and for its “passionate commitment ….. to continuing the tradition of the Celtic diaspora”. (Source: www.tradandnow.com)
Braemar was formed in early 2004 and since then has performed everywhere from the Australian Celtic Festival at Glen Innes to the pre-match national anthem slot at a Wallabies v Scotland Rugby Union Test to entertaining Prince Edward during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The duo receives critical acclaim from audiences and peers alike – in 2007, Braemar received a standing ovation for a performance at the Kapunda Celtic Festival – a member of the organising committee commented that such an ovation was a first for that festival, the longest running Celtic festival in Australia.
The duo prides itself that Braemar was approached to support the City of Glasgow’s bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and provided entertainment at numerous civic occasions – the bid was successful and even the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Liz Cameron, might agree that Braemar had some small part to play in Glasgow’s victory!
Braemar will be presenting their much acclaimed masterpiece “Lochabar No more”
Mark Davidson
Mark Davidson is a singer/songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. He has been performing in and around the Folk Music scene since the early 1990s.
He has played in several line-ups including, “Seanachaidh” a Celtic Band with a strong emphasis on Scottish music; “Tapestry”, a duo that performed a mixture of folk and country music; “Celtic Twa”, another duo combining mainly Scottish and Irish folk music; “Senior Moments”, a five-piece band with a little bit o’ swing; “The Hitmen” a band with a 1920s gangster theme and music to suit, "Martine" a duo playing music that ranges from melodic Celtic ballads to Blues and Ragtime.
Mark also likes performing as a solo artist, especially when that involves singing his own songs.
Peter Anderson
Renowned and long standing Melbourne performer peter Anderson is in fact a performer with many hats in both the literal and figurative senses!
Hat 1. Accordionist - with wide ranging styles available. Peter can lead a bush dance or Ceilidh band with Irish, Scottish and English jigs and reels, or can in fact play for a dance solo, simultaneously playing and calling the dances.
Hat 2. Singer guitarist - peter has again a wide repertoire, though specialises in folk / Australiana / country / '60's / Irish / Scottish / English - fine baritone vocalist!
Hat 3. Appalachian dulcimer - a rarely seen but beautiful and commanding instrument on which peter is probably Australia’s finest exponent. Peter's repertoire on this one varies from medieval to pink floyd!
Tom Richardson
Tom Richardson’s infectious personality and onstage presence combines with furious, bluesy slide guitar, deep powerouse vocals and foot stomping rhythms that are bound to have toes tappin’ and bums shakin’!
Tom is fast becoming a recognisable figure in the Australian music industry, awarded the Solo Blues Performer of the Year and Best Debut Album at the 2009 Victorian and Tasmanian Blues Awards and winner of the 2008 ‘Maton’ Best Young Performer at the Port Fairy Folk Festival, 2007 Apollo Bay Music Festival Young Performer of the Year, and the 2004 and 2005 Australian Busking Championships.
It's easy to see why - he combines his furious slide guitar and vocal work with the spirit of a born entertainer, making a one-man show that's just gotta be seen, or at least heard.
Lorraine is a performance poet of several years , adept at both traditional and contemporary She will make you laugh with her humorous ones and think with the others , she has Performed at National, Cobargo, Majors Creek, Turning Wave, Kangaroo Valley, St Albans Festivals.
Lorraine will be running the poets' breakfasts.
Badja River Quartet
A chance meeting at the beautiful Numeralla Folk Festival at the confluence of the Numeralla and Badja Rivers in NSW led this group of friends to discover a shared passion for great music.
Haunting harmonies on Irish low whistles, expressive and innovative concertina, sensitivity and richness on guitar and piano and passionate vocals.
The Badja River Quartet will take you on a journey from Scotland to Brittany, from Ireland to Northumbria.
This imaginative and beautiful music combines the talents of Lainey Balsdon, Steve MacDonald, Jo Cresswell and Jane Harding.
Jason McNear
Jason McNear is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who grew up in Wagga and is now based in Melbourne. His music could be called folk-infused rock, and previous comparisons include artists such as Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Neil Young and Ed Keupper.
Jason has had some success in various songwriting competitions, most notably in the 2003 Darebin Music Feast for ‘Land of Rivers’, a song inspired by the landscapes of the Riverina. He is also nearing completion of his second musical, based on Homer’s Odyssey.
Jane M Harding
Jane M Harding, from Coonabarabran in the Warrumbungle Mountains of NSW, sings and writes songs inspired by the people she knows and the places she's been. Her songwriting influences include Kristina Olsen, Pat Drummond, Bruce Watson and Banjo Patterson, with melodies heavily informed by traditional Irish Scottish, and Australian folk tunes. Blessed with a fantastic voice and gentle touch on guitar, she weaves a story in song that will continue to haunt you, long after the performance is over.
Mary Firkins
Mary is a Canberra based fiddle and singer/guitar player. Playing Scottish fiddle, strongly influenced by players such as Catherine Fraser and Kate Scott, with recent dabblings in old-timey and bluegrass. Mary currently teaches fiddle and guitar, as well as facilitating music workshops for people with different needs.
Mary will be holding a workshop where she will teach a tune to all instruments of any level. See you there!
Fran Robertson - Dance Caller and Workshops
Tracey Harris - Local Singer & Guitarist
Website by Col Pike SpiritoftheGlen.net .....Email: col@spiritoftheglen.net