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“catch them before they’re famous and only perform for royalty and astronauts” – The Brag

All Our Exes Live in Texas is a fantasy draft of Sydney’s finest singer-songwriters – Elana Stone, Katie Wighton, Hannah Crofts and Georgia Mooney – here combining in four-part indie-folk heaven. On mandolin, ukulele, accordion and guitar, the Exes deliver tunes that are tastefully crafted within the context of a playful and utterly charming live show.

With four songwriters and four unique voices, the Exes make music that draws from traditional four-part harmony, creating a new brand of modern folk. Fair warning: You’ll need your charisma sunnies or you’ll walk away a little bit in love.

All Our Exes Live in Texas has shared the stage with a range of acts from the Backstreet Boys to Megan Washington, Mama Kin and Ainslie Wills.

Fresh from a national run of sold-out shows, whilst solidifying their reputation as darlings of the festival circuit, the Exes wooed audiences from Port Fairy Folk Festival to the National Folk Festival and beyond.

With their debut album due for release in mid-2016, the Exes are a powerhouse of harmonies, charm and songwriting prowess, proving they truly are the most badass girl folk group ever.

‘All Our Exes Live in Texas have been touring over the past couple of years selling out venues all over Australia – its hard to feel sorry for someone singing a sad song when their talent is completely blocking any feelings of pity you could ever feel – they are the most badass girl folk group ever’ Hhhhappy.com

‘From the moment they stepped onstage, the Exes delivered exactly what they are renowned for – their harmonies are so good its actually a little ridiculous and their instrumentation is strong as it is disparate. Catch them before they’re famous and only perform for royalty and astronauts’ – The Brag

“I saw some great artists while up in Brisbane, and a few of them completely floored me with great songs and performances – heavy shout-out to All Our Exes Live in Texas…’ – Anthony Fantano ‘The Needle Drop’

‘A person could roam far and wide and never find finer harmonies, and the songs themselves are as disparate as they are captivating. A clear audience favourite, their improvised banter was an enduring highlight, their instrumentation (guitar, mandolin, ukulele and accordion) catchy and winsome.’ – The Brag

Sweet and charming, All Our Exes Live in Texas were a festival highlight. Soaring vocal harmonies, tight melodies, an accordion and a set peppered by the girls’ random audience banter left the audience in total adoration, with a standing ovation given to them – and rightly so.’ – The Music

‘Crammed into the corner of a chapel pew, as the church filled to its utmost capacity, the four young beautiful Sydney women made the squeeze worth it. They had us immediately eating out of their endearing little paws as they blew us away with their impeccable four-part harmonies. Their sound was both punchy and sweet and covered in lyrics you wanted to listen to because they told the most beautiful love stories.’ – Xpress Magazine Perth

“All Our Exes Live In Texas filled the Howler bar with incredible harmonies and a folky vibe. They clearly enjoy performing, and their talent combined with their relaxed and funny banter caused the audience to instantly fall in love with them. Their accordion and mandolin accompaniment in tandem with ukulele and classical guitar adds a unique dimension to their music, ensuring everyone who sees them play won’t be able to forget them. These guys certainly make a big impression” –- The AUreview

With gritty sonic depth, Irish songwriter Marc O’Reilly attacks his muse with a bipolar verve that swings from reflection to sheer riotous joy. Backed by the tightest band in Christendom, rare and beautiful songs slam into wild blues fragments and effortlessly back to clean vocal harmonies.

Marc has released two critically acclaimed albums to date, ‘Human Herdings’ and ‘My Friend Marx’ and has established himself as one of the most exciting artists within the folk/blues genre gaining comparisons with artists such as John Martyn and Bon Iver.

Marc has toured all over Europe including appearances at major festivals like Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Beautiful Days, Boardmasters, Shambala and Dranouter. He has also played in the US appearing at the Live in the Vineyard Festival in Napa, California.

His alter-ego side project with his brother Pierre, the electro-pop duo ‘R’, recently receieved excellent radio support for their debut single ‘Change’ from tastemakers such as Steve Lamacq (BBC 6music), Janice Long (BBC Radio 2) and Paul Mcloone (Today FM) and reached Number 1 on the Amazing Radio Chart.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Marc has also provided vocals on 3 tracks for the new album by MOBO winning act Karios 4tet which was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, has received 4 star reviews from Mojo, The Independent and Guardian and has led to the recording of a live BBC Maida Vale session for the Jamie Cullum Show on BBC Radio 2.

For nearly four decades, American fingerstyle wizard Richard Gilewitz has fascinated listeners with 6 and 12-string finger gymnastics while spinning enchanting yarns of a seasoned raconteur. His concert performances around the world spill over with unexpected turns of the funnies, thought-provoking takes on life on the road, and tunes that propel the audience on a magical journey of sight and sound. His signature playing style delivers a technical diversity of banjo style patterns and classical arpeggios with a rhythmic percussive approach, exploring the history of guitar with sounds of folk to Americana, the blues to the classical, ragtime to pop, and somewhere in between.In addition to his concert performances, his GillaCamp Guitar and Ukulele Workshops, Meet the Artist Seminars, Clinics, and Avenues for Success educational program for schools inspire players worldwide, providing opportunities for music lovers to work on their craft and young players to learn fingerstyle techniques and tips of the trade.

Growing up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Huntsville, Alabama, Richard embraced such diverse artists as The Beatles, Andres Segovia, Kraftwerk, Leo Kottke, J.S. Bach, Arlo Guthrie, John Fahey and Flatt & Scruggs. Soaking up the wealth of inspiration supplied by the assorted acts featured at the Renfro Valley festivals, “The Dr. Demento Radio Show” and “The Midnight Special”, Richard welcomed the challenge of mastering and adapting many styles of music for the acoustic guitar — a trait that continually places him among a multitude of genres.

Richard began honing his skills both as a performer and composer during the late 1970’s at the University of Alabama, playing the local coffeehouse circuit while pursing degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Music. Following graduation, Richard placed his musical calling in the background and joined the world of flight simulation design, telemetry and satellite systems.

The 1980’s brought Richard to Florida where he released his first LP recording, Somewhere In Between. As the pull of his passion for performing and recording became so compelling, Richard left corporate life to teach and perform full time in a career that has propelled him into an international music arena. He has gone on to release seven more recordings plus a number of educational materials.

Students around the globe attend Richard’s roving GillaCamp Guitar/Ukulele Workshops and Guitars, Gear, and a Bit of Ukulele Clinics. These interactive experiences provide players an avenue to renew their love of the instrument and hone their craft. Designed for all level of player, these events explore a wide variety of topics in a group and individual setting. Richard also has a number of international students that study with him through Skype and is guest instructor at a number of international guitar retreats including Winterbreak in Australia and Guitar Retreats in the UK. Meet the Artist Educational Outreach takes him into the learning environment at grade/middle/high schools, colleges, and universities as this 1-5 day residency program introduces students to the professional musician. Classes include lectures and instruction.He is on the faculty of Master the Possibilities of Ocala Florida, and is a Sherpa Classroom Instructor with TrueFire.

Today, recognized world-wide as a performer who has a quirky take on everything around him, Richard continues to live up to this depiction with rousing shows filled with offbeat observations combined with his right-hand wizardry and heaps of technique. With Richard’s performances teeming with sparkles of mood mastery and wonderment, he shares a fresh impression of sound to the listener during his concert appearances and at his workshops.

Says Spectrum Magazine, “Much of the charm of a Gilewitz performance is in the stories he tells. He wondered aloud to the audience how many ducks he could take out in a fight if he were to be attacked by a flock of the sneaky waterfowl.”

Whether playing solo, conducting guitar seminars and school programs, or sharing the stage with folks such as Stephen Housden of the Little River Band, Brooks Williams, Michael Fix, The California Guitar Trio, John McCutcheon, John Renbourn, Mose Allison, the late John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Norman Blake, Indigo Girls, or John Hammond, Richard always invites the audience to join his journey filled with twitters, twists, and turns at every tune.

“Ear-boggling” The Washington Post

“His complex, energetic originals have made Gilewitz popular on the festival and club circuits as a solo performer.” Guitar Player Magazine

”His performance style is very crisp and precise, allowing the personality of the music to shine through.” Dirty Linen Magazine

“His quick wit and twisted sense of humor has made him an entertainer as well as a fine guitarist.” Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine

Keep your eyes & ears peeled for the vintage VW “Jam Van” which will be cruising around clon on the Saturday afternoon of this year’s festival.

‘Heavy Billy and the Just-a-Minute Battery Hens’ will be blasting out some blistering psych punk n’ blues as this moveable musical feast rocks up on a few unannounced street corners between 2-5pm!

CROW BLACK CHICKEN

Crow Black Chicken have earned a reputation as one of Irelands top blues acts. This power trio of Christy O Hanlon (Vocals, Guitar, Stephen McGrath (Bass) and Gev Barrett (Drums, backing vocals) combine elements of folk and hard rock with the blues rock of bands like Gov’t mule, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin to create their greasy blues rock sound.

“These guys do the nasty blues like the devil hisself was hurting and rock like they’ll skate come judgement day” Ray Wylie Hubbard

“CBC could save rock and roll” Alvin Youngblood Hart

MEDIA QUOTES

“With their debut album Electric Soup the band shows steely intention to throw away comparisons and make their own mark.” Classic Rock Blues Magazine

“Loving the album, Rumble Shake is stunning”. Classic Rock Blues Magazine

“It’s not often these days for a band to lay down a complete track as a ‘take’ but that’s exactly the approach taken by Crow Black Chicken. This is a very honest album with a lot of feel and solid playing throughout and is a strong promise of things to come.” Guitar Techniques.

“Electric Soup is not only a promising debut, it’s a savage beast of a record: grimy, lean, mean, and soulful.” Allmusic.com

VIDEO:

Fintan McKahey is a young Irish singer- songwriter. His percussive style of guitar resonates with the mystic pulse of West Cork.

Fintan is the son of an Irish drummer (Stump) and British actress. Travels through Thailand, the Masai Mara in Africa and studies with Laika shamans in the Sacred Valley, Peru, have influenced his songs. A multi disciplinary artist, he continues to work as a performer in Ireland, having trained as a classical actor at Kinsale’s amphitheatre.

A year in London furthered his experience of music production, while hip hop and down tempo electronic music permeates his recent work. Fintan’s debut EP ‘Two Lifetimes Late’ launches at the iconic DeBarra’s Folk Club on 19th June.

Fintan McKahey’s ‘Two Lifetimes Late’ tours Ireland early summer 2016.

VIDEO:

“Master Cooney restores the ancient link between lyre and lyric, between poetry and performance, the rhapsody and rascality.” – Seamus Heaney

Since moving to Ireland from Melbourne Australia, in 1981 Stephen Cooney has made a meteoric impact on traditional music in this country. Testament to this are the seminal groups and albums that Cooney has contributed to from Sharon Shannon’s first record to his current work with Luka Bloom. For the last 6 years Steve has contributed greatly to the Guitar Festival, hosting a series of workshops & performances. Last years performance saw Steve perform a never before seen show with two percussionists & his electric guitar which still hangs in the air as one of the special highlights of the fest to date with this years performance set to eclipse them all!

Workshop  Steve returns to give his now-legendary seminars at the guitar festival.  In response to incredible demand, we’ve allocated extra time for Steve to share his unparalleled knowledge of a wide range of music.  Last year’s workshop was one of the festival’s secret gems as Steve illustrated his unique and accessible way of notating music and creating harmony for backing melodies

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/uxRCOoeHFKM