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'Australian Music - down & around the Murray' (1st leg)
THE
POST MASTERS' OFFICE
All AUSTRALIAN MUSIC TOUR 2005FEATURING- Award winning pioneer bushband with lightning mandolinist
'The BLOWFLIES'Talented singer/songwriter and contemporary folk & rock balladeer
'NEIL HIGGINS'ALSO PRESENTING, GUEST PERFORMER- Award winning Australian songwriter & harmonica virtuoso
'KENNY JOE BLAKE'To perform on tour throughout rural Australia, bringing a complete range of Australian music & songs from traditional and contemporary eras, penned by Australia's most highly respected lyricists, songwriters & poets. Showcasing the best of Australian music and songs which have spanned decades and in some instances centuries, packing most of Australia's cultural background into one concert.
Performing at country halls & civic reception areas or other suitable concert venues.
This All Australian Music concert tour will bring with it, some hope and reflection that rural Australia has not been forgotten. After the severe drought & economic downturn in rural Australia and other longstanding social & isolated problems which have affected rural communities for generations.
Bringing a complete concert such as this to their doorstep and making it accessible and affordable for rural Australian families to attend, will ensure that these concert performances be well accepted throughout rural Australia. Concert nights are to be staged on Thursday/Friday/Saturday evenings and some Sunday afternoons.MUSICIANS & MUSICAL STYLES Award winning Pioneer Bushband-'The BLOWFLIES' The 'Blowflys' were formerly known as 'Terra Australis' and have received wide acclaim and many awards including winning on several occasions the prestigious 'Battle of the Bushbands' Award at Tamworth. They are a group of musicians with song writing & musical talents that drive a distinctive Australian sound in their performances. Be it Bush music, Pioneer Country or Australian country Rock, their audience are toe-tapping immediately. Since they began playing at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, 'The Blowflys' ('Terra Australis')have in the last five years won four awards, including The Battle of the Bush Bands Award and Best Instrumental Award. Nobby McManus, who is an award winning mandolin player, is the lead singer who has written songs for 'The Blowflys'. He leads his band with strong and clear voice and draws large audiences at the venues at which they play during the Tamworth Festival. Together with his two sons, Skye and Kyle, who make up the core of the band, his drummer Geoff and his fiddle player, the band has toured extensively throughout the outback of NSW, Queensland & parts of Vic. They also use their own arrangements when playing their music. So when you listen to songs such as Lachlan Tigers, Black Velvet Band and other Pioneer songs, or more modern tunes including the Alice Spings Jump, you are listening to a 'Blowflys' arrangement. The line up consists of :- Nobby McManus - Mandolin, Lead guitar, Lead Vocals Skye McManus Rhythm guitar, vocals Kyle McManus- bass guitar Geoff Reeves- drums Singer/Songwriter and Balladeer-'Neil Higgins' Neil Higgins's playing style is cutting the genera of contemporary folk/Australian balladeer, and in performance, he delivers a song with a caring nature that sometimes combs through some social issues displaying an openness to his music. This feel, sometimes moves to another area and gives the listener a chance to experience a more vigorous, earthy, Australiana feel which doesn't lose the direction of where his writings and performance is heading. His songs display soul-searching stories of Australian, both modern and traditional styles alike. Neil relies heavily upon being able to deliver a song in a pure manner with songs that are written with substance. Through song, he is a story teller, and in his own way, he is helping to keep the bard alive. His debut album 'From the Inside' has a close look at what Australia represents to him and has a strong Australian flavour of all original songs, and has attracted some stirring reviews along the way from the likes of Glenn A. Baker, Pat Drummond and Hugh McDonald. Postmasters' Office Guest performer
'Kenny Joe Blake'Kenny Joe Blake was a wanderer long before he fell into the life of the singer /songwriter. He could best be described as a man with an extremely colourful and diverse background. Learning to play the harmonica as the result of a bet at 17, Kenny Joe started playing guitar in '75.
During the early 90's Kenny Joe began playing and writing in the Roots Country scene, where he teamed up with the late, great A P Johnson.
Kenny Joe's repertoire encompasses contemporary country, down-home blues, R'n'B, rockabilly, cajun, rock and roll, bluegrass, traditional Australian folk, as well as a lot of strong original material.
The originals include the triple 1998 Grammy Award nominated song "Who Drove The Mystery Train, recorded in Texas by expatriate Aust/NZ legend Peter Caulton. Peter reckons Kenny Joe is a "national bloody treasure", and Peter's record label, 'Bear Family Records' in Germany, call Kenny Joe "a master songwriter". Peter's latest 'Bear Family' release, "Raining On The Rock", contains 3 more of Kenny Joe's songs.
A strong, soulful singer, and an adept guitarist and harmonica player, Kenny Joe is quite the troubadour, telling some very amusing anecdotes between songs, and is easily approachable from an audience point of view.
Late in '98, became a member of 'Terra Australis', then known as Fowlhouse Jack, who went on to win the 1998 Fosters Bush Band of the Year, in Tamworth , with Kenny also picking up the "Outstanding Performer Award". Their first CD "Terra Australis", featured Kenny Joe singing three of his songs.
Sept 2000, "Capricorn Rain" made No 4 on the Australian Top 30 Country Singles chart, without any promotion. Mid 2004 and it is still receiving airplay on the ABC and 4AAA in Brisbane. 'Terra Australis', the 2002 National Bush Band of the Year, recently released "The Rum Of Reason" CD, containing 4 more fine Kenny Joe originals. One of these, "Darling River Darling", took out first place in the Australian Independent Country Music Awards, in the Heritage / Traditional song section, at the 2002 Mildura Country Music Festival.
Recently a song he wrote with his good friend Kenny Ray White, "Take My Dog For A Run", was recorded and released on Slim Dusty's final album. "Now that's an honor worth waiting for," he reckons.what to expect from this current tour
Being an Australiana Concert tour, rural Australia can expect to hear songs that have been written &/or recorded by some of the great legends in Australian produced music & poetry.
The concerts will capture not only some original material from the performers themselves, but also the imaginative works of many great Australian poets and songwriters.Postmasters Office Tour Dates / 2005 Tour / Postmasters Office Poster / Postmasters Office Press Release Postmaster's Tour CD / Postmasters Office Photo Gallery / Postmasters Performer's Bios / Access Records Homepage / Neil Higgins Homepage
