In Lou of a talent night
Music will echo through the valley when Main Arm Public School hosts local talent for an evening of live music on Friday 21 October. The event is headlined by Lou Bradley; she’s country, she’s folk, she’s pop, and is known for her authentic songs that sweep across a vast terrain of life, love and friendship. Lou has been captivating audiences since winning the inaugural John Butler Seed touring grant in 2005. February 2007 saw the release of the first of four albums, which was ARIA and CMAA Golden Guitar nominated. Lou has graced the stage with Australian country luminaries Kasey and Bill Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley, Shane Nicholson and Gina Jeffreys.
Also appearing are the Cassettes with a unique 80s flashmob performance and the much-loved Curly Cousins, who promise to delight and inspire both young and old with their rich harmonies, uplifting arrangements, multi-instrumental talents and audience interaction.
Other highlights include Main Arm students showcasing their musical talent, and local favourite DJ Mikey will round off the evening with his worldly beats.
Free entry. Fun activities, sideshow alley, pony rides and delicious food.
The Hoad Ahead
Fijian-born multi-instrumentalist Jay Hoad brings his unique show back to The Rails. Jay just released his new album Off the Cuff, which he wrote and recorded with guitarist Chris Finnen, who was recently inducted into the American Guitarist Hall of Fame alongside artists such as Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton. Fans will have an opportunity to hear much of the new material performed live at his upcoming shows, performing on shovel guitar, didgeridoo, dulcimer, dulsitar, cigar-box guitar, komby chassis guitar, Weissenborn lap steel, steam-punk guitar, drum kit, percussion, loops, voice and more. Thursday 20 October, 7pm.
Cuba on the Rails
After a month in Cuba, Willy McElroy returns with a fist full of revolution to play with his band The Immigrants at the Rails.
Cuba is the place that has inspired artists and thinkers for decades. According to Bob Dylan on Tangled up in Blue… ‘There was music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air’.
Willy McElroy & the Immigrants play The Rails on Friday at 7pm.
28–30 October at North Stradbroke
Island Life
With more than 80 acts strutting their stuff at Australia’s premier beachside reggae and soul event, you’re going to want to do a wee bit of planning to fit in as much goodness as possible at Island Vibe this year. Featuring headline acts such as Katchafire, Tiki Taane, and Nattalie Rize, Island Vibe is more than just a music festival. Through its strong cultural program the festival invites community groups from around Australia and the Pacific to engage in a cultural exchange with the Quandamooka people of Stradbroke Island. This year’s guests include Xango Capoeira, Meninas da Lua, Tiki Taane, Trinidad steel-pan drummers, and the Birri Dancers from central Queensland.
28–30 October at North Stradbroke Island. Go to islandvibe.com.au.
Golf gets Hip
Greg Lyon and The Hip Operation play the Byron Bay Golf Club this Sunday featuring RnB and soul with some of the country’s top musicians.
The monthly Sunday Groove Sessions have become a favourite hangout for music-loving locals and musos. This month the special guest is slide guitar master Kirk Lorange. From 4pm.
Vote 1 for Tralala Blip
Give local band Tralala Blip a chance to play Falls Festival by voting on www.fallsfestival.com/byron-bay/foster-a-band.
What strikes the listener most about this electro pop quintet is that there’s purity in the way they play. Tralala Blip has created a space for improvisation. You can almost feel the sensitivity and awareness that move between its members. The experience is wholly unusual; you hear the honesty in their music, so much so that the idea of wrong notes disappears.
Train Fishin’
The Wilson Pickers started as a side project back in 2009 that then went on to record two Aria-nominated albums. Back from a five-year hiatus after band member Danny Widdicombe undertook treatment for for leukaemia, The Wilson Pickers return with their stellar third album You Can’t Catch Fish from a Train. The album was recorded in the round at Church Farm Studios in Billinudgel over three days in February this year.
The ten songs on the album feature the raw ebullience for which The Wilson Pickers are known, alongside heartfelt reflections on some of what life has thrown at this band of deft musicians and close friends.
Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine, Bernard Fanning) mixed and mastered the album and has brought this passionate and powerful recording to brilliant fruition.
There are guest appearances by Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger) and Rod Coe (Slim Dusty) making this highly anticipated release a very well credentialled recording with a lot of heart. You Can’t Catch Fish from a Train is not a bluegrass album, and these are not bluegrass players. The project holds something closer to The Travelling Wilburys at its heart, songwriters and players coming together to make a unique and astonishing album.
They play the Bangalow A&I Hall on Sunday, and 18, 19 and 20 November they play the Mullum Music Festival.
For tickets go to thewilsonpickers.com.au.
Scratch my Bacharach
Back to Bacharach returns for a 2016 encore tour, now featuring the anthems of Love Child (the TV series) and starring the delightful Paulini and Michelle Martinez (who appears in the TV show)!
It’s a two-hour show jam packed with Burt Bacharach hits and classics from the 60s/70s as featured in the Love Child TV series.
The show will be at the Ballina RSL on Friday 21 October as part of the 2016 tour.
Ex-Services on Friday
Irish Mythen
Don’t miss Irish Mythen this Friday at Club Mullum – a true entertainer who is known for her gripping live performances.
She is the storyteller who will grasp your attention and who will bring you on an incredible and emotional journey – as well as the comedian with a joie de vivre who’ll have you laughing from the very beginning until long after she’s left the bandstand.
Tickets $25 available on the door or online at www.clubmullum.com.
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