Fishing for Monkeys
Monkey & the Fish return to The Rails on Sunday presenting songs from their recently released second studio album A Place Of Hope plus other originals and interpretations of classic tunes. Lush vocal harmonies, excellent musicianship and magic songcraft feature through an eclectic repertoire with folk, roots, rock and reggae influences. Singer/songwriting duo Chris Fisher and Marcelle Townsend-Cross create a special presence and signature sound that’s developed over the 20 years they have performed together. The lineup also includes the seasoned rhythm section of George Urbaszek on bass and Johnny Shaw on drums. The addition of Glenn Kellett on trumpet, percussion, keys, and backing vocals make for dynamic and diverse arrangements.
Two songs from the new album, Change is Good and Hand In Hand, were directly inspired through the Bentley Blockade and community opposition to CSG. Other tracks include collaborations with the late poet Iris Fisher. Monkey & the Fish deliver an uplifting and high-energy performance that connects with audiences. A perfect balance between artistry and entertainment. From 7pm.
Raised by Eagles
With their new album Must be Somewhere receiving unanimous widespread acclaim, and the completion of a run of shows supporting Mick Thomas and The Roving Commission, the time has finally come for Raised By Eagles to announce their own long-awaited run of headline dates, which takes in the Mullumbimby Ex-Services.
Raised By Eagles’ entrance onto Melbourne’s musical landscape in July 2013 immediately garnered the attention of Americana music aficionados across the country, their debut release scoring the band a nomination at the Age Music Victoria Awards that year for Best Country Album. Since then, continually raw and captivating performances have cemented Raised By Eagles’ reputation as one of Melbourne’s most sought-after independent acts. They released their widely acclaimed followup LP Diamonds In the Bloodstream in May 2015, which bagged a slew of award nominations and went on to win Best Country Album and Best Emerging Artist at The Age Music Victoria Awards. It also scored them an invitation from the prestigious Americana Music Festival in Nashville where they delivered a stellar run of international shows before returning home to begin 2016. After a big year on the Australian festival circuit, which included Port Fairy Folk Festival, Bigsound, Bello Winter Music Festival and Dashville Skyline, the band took a break to start writing and recording their third album I Must be Somewhere, which has already scored four stars in Rolling Stone Australia and is now available through ABC Music and at all good record stores.
Raised By Eagles is a band of integrity and a generosity of spirit. A band who remains unaffected by the smoke and mirrors of music in the postmodern era, and encapsulates the art of storytelling at its heartfelt finest… They play Club Mullum at the Mullumbimby Ex-Services on Saturday 26 August at 7pm. Tickets $20 online at clubmullum.com or $25 at the door. Support is Ben Wilson.
Big Band for Ballina
The Northern Rivers Big Band will be appearing in concert at the Ballina RSL this Sunday.
Band leader Royden Ainsworth has chosen some great tunes starting with the theme from Star Wars, followed by many of the very best foot-tapping moments in jazz history, including George Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band, American Patrol by Glenn Miller, a great arrangement of jazz-rock from Gordon Goodwin, The Jazz Police, and Doin’ Basie’s Thing, Love for Sale by Cole Porter, plus some beautiful arrangements such as Fool on a Hill by the Beatles.
Jazz vocalist Kristina Kelman will be performing with the big band. Kristina is from Brisbane and has performed around Australia and Asia, Europe and the USA with many artists including Don Burrows, Tommy Tycho and the Qld Symphony Orchestra. Kristina has her own quartet in Brisbane,and performs with various corporate bands, has recorded several albums, and works as an internationally respected music educator at the Queensland University of Technology. Kristina as selected many great standard tunes for your enjoyment including Nice Work if You Can Get It by George Gershwin, It Don’t Mean Thing by Duke Ellington, Fever, and Hoagy Charmichael’s Georgia on My Mind.
Male vocalist Kristian Keogh has some of the best seventies and eighties tunes for you including I’m Your Man by Leonard Cohen, Me and Mrs Jones by Billy Paul, You’ve Got a Friend from Carole King and Crazy Love by Van Morrison.
The band members are very happy to perform these exciting and memorable melodies for you, as they are examples of the best music created in the 20th century. It is a real pleasure to experience the sound of a large big band performing the best arrangements ever produced.
At the Ballina RSL from 1pm on Sunday. Tickets are $15.00 at Ballina RSL Box Office. Phone 6686 2544, online at www.ballinarsl.com.au/entertainment/bookings/ or at the Club on the day.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
