Folk, Blues, Bluegrass & World Music Gigs in Sydney

THURS 13 FEB @ LEICHHARDT BOWLO

THE TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD ORCHESTRA (CANADA)

Final Sydney Show of their first Australian Tour!

 

8PM. $26
Leichhardt Bowling Club, 88-92 Piper St, Lilyfield.


The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra are a collection of musicians, linked by common sonic journeys and familial ties. From ballads and sing-alongs to high-energy dance parties, they have spent years telling their stories with guitars and violins, with accordions and bass, with melodies and music makers gleaned from their wanderings. 

Their music weaves a multicultural Canadian tapestry: Roots, Eastern European Dance Party, Jazz, Bluegrass, Flamenco, African, Latin, Celtic, Métis, Rock, Gospel, Blues, Canadianawhile the band represents an eclectic background – German Mennonite, Chinese, Dutch, Scottish and Métis. These troubadours remind you that this music could not exist without warm bodies in search of harmony.

http://www.thetequilamockingbirdorchestra.com
www.facebook.com/thetequilamockingbirdorchestra
Videos:
Fur & Feathers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMmGLwAHj6M&feature=emb_logo
Nose Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGQzsov_hfY
Home on Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toQ1xMHrLaE

 

SAT 15 FEB @ LEICHHARDT BOWLO

FRED SMITH

‘Domestic’ CD Launch with Liz Frencham & Dave ONeill

8PM. Tickets: $31. 

Leichhardt Bowling Club, 88-92 Piper St, Lilyfield.

 

Renowned Australian singer-songwriter-storyteller, Fred Smith, gets together again with dynamic double bass-player, Liz Frencham, and multi-instrumentalist Dave O’Neill (Eric Bogle Band, etc) for this Valentine’s Day weekend show, to launch his new CD ‘Domestic’. 


Liz will be kicking off proceedings with a few songs of her own.
This effervescent new record combines Fred’s musings on 21st Century Australia with love songs for middle-aged people. This is his first album in 8 years not to contain songs about war and death. 


Fred is renowned for his travelogue albums, ‘Dust of Uruzgan’, ‘Bagarap Empires’, and ‘Texas’, and was featured on the ABC’s ‘Australian Story’ following the release of his highly acclaimed ‘Dust  Of Uruzgan’ album  in late 2013.  

https://www.fredsmith.com.au
Video: Dust of Uruzgan (live in Afghanistan): 

 

 

SAT 22 FEB @ LEICHHARDT BOWLO

BIG MERINO

8PM. $21.
Leichhardt Bowling Club, 88-92 Piper St, Lilyfield.


Big Merino is a genre-busting band, featuring Stuart Davis (lead vocals/guitar), Alex Craig (lead guitar), Peter Richardson (bass) and Colin Sevitt (drums), playing original music that blurs the lines between rock, blues, roots, soul and pop.

 

Despite an obvious passion for what’s often termed ‘Americana’, their music also somehow manages to sound quintessentially Australian.

Lead singer and band leader, Stuart Davis, is also known for his roles as a founding member of the acclaimed Cafe of The Gate of Salvation gospel choir and the Heavenly Light Quartet, as well as a director and workshop leader for numerous community and school choirs around Australia.

Great songs, great songwriting and best of all – full of a real sincerity and commitment” – Michael Smith (Rhythms magazine)

Website: https://bigmerinoband.com.au/INFO.html  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigmerino/
Video: “Sweet Little Angel”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r3AGP9y0g4&feature=youtu.be



FRI 28 FEB @ LEICHHARDT BOWLO

BUSHFIRE BENEFIT FOR COBARGO COMMUNITY - ELEANOR MCEVOY (Ire) & SON (SUSAN O'NEILL) (Ire) + The Jellyman's Daughter (Scotland)

8PM. Tickets: $40. 
Leichhardt Bowling Club, 88-92 Piper St, Lilyfield.


The small rural village of Cobargo on the NSW Far South Coast was overwhelmed by a massive firestorm on New Year’s Eve, resulting in the loss of three lives, at least 88 homes, and the heart of  the township razed to the ground, not to mention the large scale devastation of the surrounding farms and bushland and the consequent drastic impact on the local people, farm animals and wildlife.


Another consequence of the bushfires was that the annual Cobargo Folk Festival scheduled for the weekend of Feb 28 to March 1 had to be cancelled. Three of the scheduled headline acts for the festival, Eleanor McEvoy, Susan O’Neill and The Jellyman’s Daughter have decided to get together in Sydney on what would have been the opening night of the festival to stage a concert in aid of The Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund. This fund was set up by Cobargo community representatives to fund projects of benefit to the whole community, and to help rebuild the community and it’s spirit. 


https://au.gofundme.com/f/cobargo-community-bushfire-recovery-fund

Eleanor McEvoy is one of Ireland’s leading singer-songwriters, best known for writing ‘Only A Woman’s Heart’,the title track of an anthology album that has gone on to be the best selling album in Irish history. Eleanor’s sometimes quirky, perceptive songs, range from love ballads and story-telling, to left-of-centre takes on the vagaries of life.


SON is the stage name of Susan O’Neill , a County Clare singer-songwriter whose soulful performances are something to behold.With a striking attitude, guitar, harmonica, trumpet and loop-pedal, she delivers a timeless and powerful blend of the old Irish soul with a new edge.


Scottish duo, The Jellyman’s Daughter, blend Bluegrass, Folk & Soul in their original songs, with vocal harmonies, visceral cello, driving guitar and sweet mandolin.

Eleanor McEvoy: http://www.eleanormcevoy.com/
“Only A Woman’s Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWCAapizecs
SON: https://son.ie
Found Myself Lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIlLCqmvN-U
The Jellyman’s Daughter: https://www.thejellymansdaughter.com
Dead Reckoning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRCIjQ1vfw

FRI 14 FEB @ LEICHHARDT BOWLO

RORY MCLEOD (UK)

8PM. $26. 

Leichhardt Bowling Club, 88-92 Piper St, Lilyfield.

 

Extra Sydney Show for Rory McLeod, the London-born, Scotland-based, world-travelling, “one-off, one-man-band, with soul and poetry running through his veins”! 

 

Rhythmic storyteller and multi-instrumentalist Rory McLeod is a travelling troubadour, toting stories and songs that are bold, percussive, lyrical and deeply personal. 

 

Wielding  guitars, harmonicas, trombone, spoons, stomp box, tap shoes, a big heart and a cheeky wit, his shows are enthralling and unforgettable. 

 

He is a musical gypsy, his eccentric melodies are infused with influences from Flamenco to Country blues, through to Celtic, East European and Calypso rhythms creating a style of music and songwriting that has been described as “intimate, revealing, political and powerful.”


Rory is a superb harmonica-player, and has played harmonica and guitar with the likes of Ani DiFranco, Michelle Shocked, Michael Franti, Townes Van Zandt, Ali Farke Toure, Taj Mahal, & more. 

 

 

http://www.rorymcleod.com/  

https://www.facebook.com/rory.mcleodtalkativemusic/

Videos:
Farewell Welfare: https://youtu.be/om4rVKQ2mrM?t=105
The Wind is Getting Stronger: https://youtu.be/8MzL4jmKIpA

 

SUN 16 FEB @ PETERSHAM BOWLO

MARA & LLEW KIEK and SKORBA

7PM. $26. 
Petersham Bowling Club, 77 Brighton St, Petersham. Ph. 9569 4639. http://thepbc.org.au/
Music from Malta to the Balkans & Beyond!

Approximate times: Skorba: 7.00 – 8.00pm. Mara & Llew Kiek (as a duo & with members of Skorba): 8.30 – 9.30pm.
Mara & Llew Kiek are leading figures on the Australian and international World music scene, as singers, musicians, and directors, particularly for their roles in the Mara! band and the Martenitsa Choir. 
For this show they will start the second half of the night as a duo, before being joined by members of Skorba to present a set of music from Mara & Llew’s vast repertoire, focussing particularly on the traditional music of the Balkans, Western Europe (including Celtic nations), and the Middle East, including some of their own original works.
 
Skorba is an original world music band formed by Blue Mountains musician/singer, Andy Busuttil, to present the cultural heritage of his homeland, Malta. 
They will start the night off with a set of their songs in Maltese, Turkish and English, supported by a visual presentation depicting the history of Malta.

 


THUR 27 FEB @ PETERSHAM BOWLO

JOHN MCCUTCHEON (USA)

8PM. $31. 
Petersham Bowling Club, 77 Brighton St, Petersham. Ph. 9569 4639. http://thepbc.org.au/
 
Only Sydney show for John McCutcheon, legendary US Folk singer-songwriter, story-teller, activist, author, and multi-instrumentalist, on a whirlwind tour – his first here since 2013. Not to be missed!


John McCutcheon is one of America’s most respected and loved folksingers, best known for his song, “Christmas In The Trenches”, about the unofficial Christmas truce between British and German soldiers on the Western Front in 1914. 
His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe, and his forty recordings have garnered every imaginable honour, including multiple Grammy nominations.

Folk music’s rustic renaissance man … storytelling with the richness of fine literature.” – Washington Post
“The most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”— Johnny Cash

Website: https://www.folkmusic.co
Videos:
“Christmas In The Trenches”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJi41RWaTCs
This Land is Your Land, with intro about Pete Seeger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw6Y1xNyng