Tha National Folk Festival and more..

So dear friends, the first part of the 'Earth On An Axis' tour is over.. Apart from feeling like I just want to do it all again, I'm a little scared to check my carbon footprint this time as I've been back to sydney 3 times in the last month! Last weekend I flew down and supported one of my favourite bands: Tinpan Orange at The Vanguard in Newtown and The Brass Monkey in Cronulla. They are incredible to watch on stage.

Jules, Emily, me, Alex and Jesse after a big night at The Vanguard.


Playing at The Heritage Hotel in Bulli, Wollongong

At the start of April we drove down to Canberra to head to The National Folk Festival. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at the variety of music. I think a good sign for this festival is meeting people who have been coming for 22 years in a row, and they're only 23 years old!The first night we got there we headed straight to the session bar, which basically consists of people sitting around playing tunes (mainly trad folk) on fiddles, accordians, bodrans, etc. It's a focal point of this festival, which is why so many return year after year. Simon Watts and me playing at the Flute and Fiddle Stage at the National Folk Festival.

I played at the Flute and Fiddle stage which is located in the thick of it all. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and receptiveness of the audience. Big thank you to the talented Simon Watts who accompanied me on violin. I also put my name down for the Motown song competition, but completely forgot about it until arriving at the festival. Luckily I had a dream where Marvin Gaye came to me and told me I was his love child from the 70's. It was my saving grace, as I sang 'How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You' in front or 2000 people. That'll teach me! Simon Watts and me playing at The Marquee stage, National Folk Festival 2010.

I also got to meet two of my heroes. One is my all time fave female singer: Sally Dastey from the beautiful Tiddas sisters. I saw her backstage as she was about to go on. So I ran up to her and told her how much her music has meant to me over the years, we had a good laugh. You can check out some of her tunes here.

The beautiful Sally Dastey and me.

My other hero is The National festival fave, the one and only instrumental beat boxing guru: Mal Webb. What a guy! I got a copy of his album 'Dodgy' in the post the other day. His sense of humour and melodies are so unique, and watching him live is mind boggling. The song of Mal's I have always loved is 'Two and a Dog'. It's the classic song for all emerging artists to listen to!

Mal and me.

Other acts I truly enjoyed were: Eddie Reader, Les Barker (a Welsh comedian/ poet), Nick and Liesl, Rafa Godoy, Rapskallion, The Whitetop mountaineers and Fabio Chivhanda and the Jive Masters.


Heading north after the festival I stopped in and played at the Nowra Tea Club. A great little venue with a garden stage setting and nice locals. Then I went on to do two shows with The Lucky Wonders at The Heritage Hotel in Bulli and Gearins Hotel in Katooma. The Blue Mountains crowd were out in full force, so thank you for coming out and supporting us! We had such a great time. I can't wait to come back again. I'll be uploading videos of the tour so far to youtube very soon, so stay tuned.
The gypsy troupe at Gearins, Katoomba. Photo by Rachael Brady.

Thank you to all the local radio stations who have been spinning the album. Especially to Bay FM in Byron Bay and Shoalhaven FM. And for anyone who is keen to get a copy of the album, it will be coming soon to Itunes through MGM Distibution. Stay tuned!

Upcoming gigs:

Brews and Bar Chords @ The Stone and Wood Brewery, Byron Bay, Saturday May 7th, 8pm.

Unplugged at the Basement @ the Gold Coast Arts Centre, Thursday May 13th, 8pm

Buddha Bar with Full band + Support Saturday May 15th

I'm also going to give away a copy of Earth On An axis which comes in a hand made fabric bag!

Just hop on here and become a fan. The first person to message me will get a copy sent to them