Every Witch Way!
What is a Country Witch? How do I join?
No two Country Witches are alike, but we are all united in knowing that we are the disruptive ones that would’ve been burnt a couple hundred years ago!
What do Country Witches believe in?
We believe in being the change we want to see in the world and we are willing to get dirty, laugh, dance and sing to make that shit happen!
The Country Witches went out west… what happened? How were you received?
We went straight into the heart of the real CWA country and we knew they would LOVE us or HATE us. They may need some trauma counseling after our disruptive shows, but we were received with SUCH love and roars of laughter and celebration to be hearing the things we were saying. It is amazing to have united our Western sisters, and a few brothers, into our wild ways.
How do you blend comedy and music? Can it really sit together?
On paper it really shouldn’t work, but at the heart of the show is a lot of heart and that is what people are needing right now, more than ever, and both of us meet our art forms from that place and share our art in those ways too. So the show then sits together easily wrapped in Mandy and I’s friendship and sisterhood on stage, it sits in Mandy and I sharing politics of good humanity and heart, it sits in the chats with the audience, it sits in welcoming people into our disorganisation, and it sits in being able to offer a much needed space for community to gather and laugh, cry, sing and be human! And we are both deadly, so that ties it all up with a bow!
You are an international touring musician. You perform serious insightful shows – why do CWA? What does it offer you that you don’t get normally?
It offers me a chance to work with one of my best friends, Mandy Nolan, which is reason enough! But it also is a space to have conversations that the average music or comedy show doesn’t have the time or space to go into. We both engage with our community in different ways in this show. No two shows are the same because no two audiences or days are the same and the show is very reactive to the time and place we are in!
Where do you get your outfits?
Mandy loves the Google, which is good and bad! A few good shops and a few fails we have to laugh at. But we still look hot! And PS we are looking for some fresh designs, so hit us up if you wanna dress the witches!
You now have Arianna on board doing visuals – what does that add to the show?
She is the layer we never knew we were missing! She makes the spaces unique to each show, like Mandy and I are reactive with our content. She invites people into the space in a more engaging way, and adds another layer of connection to our content. She is also a badass and that adds a lot!
Why are you doing shows for the Solstice?
We are all searching for meaning but with such loss of cultural connections in modern society it is hard to find. After COVID we wanted to dig deeper as artists and bring some more layers to our shows and meet the thirst for connection we felt at our shows. I love learning more myself about my Irish Pagan traditions, but whether you are Wiccan, Catholic, Muslim, or connect to any other spiritual belief system, there are times of the year that mark occasions for celebration and community that are across them all. It is all our ancient ways of stopping and honouring the world, ourselves and our community, but we’ve forgotten these ways in our modern world. We don’t often stop to honour the change of the seasons, or the rising of a full moon, or the abundance of light at the solstice time of the year – as we are all moving so fast. The Solstice like our Bealtaine show is a purposeful pause to gather as a community and mark in this instance the longest day of the year, the abundance of summer and its harvest, and to do that in a room full of kickass women is incredibly potent!!
What should we expect?
Potency!
Tickets $40 with info at: www.ainetyrrell.com/gigs
FRIDAY 18 Dec – The Studio, Lismore City Hall 8pm.
SATURDAY 19 Dec – Byron Theatre, Community Centre 8pm.
SUNDAY 20 Dec – Bangalow Bowlo 5pm.
MONDAY 21 Dec – Mullum Civic Hall 8pm.
TUESDAY 22 Dec – Kyogle Bowlo 8pm.
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