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NSW and Tasmania tour and the Day before departure

February 27, 2018 0 Comments

The day before I left for NSW I did a performance at the Denmark Arts Markets, it was a fabulous morning and if you have never been to the Arts Markets you must schedule a trip to Denmark WA to coincide with an Arts Markets day. They have live music playing all day and lots of market stalls with hand made products, food and more.

I played a full set and at the end of my set I decided to dedicate the last two songs to the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. I offered the audience an opportunity to get up on stage with me to stand with the Women, men and children in offshore detention, it was quite moving as people joined me and a very special moment indeed when I sang my new song “Fly Free Little Bird”

I was away for just over 3 weeks and I’ve been home a week or so and it’s been go go go. I had a fantastic tour and there were many highlights and a few lowlights of course but it wouldn’t be rock ‘n’ roll if  it was all plain sailing.  After spending a few days with my 2nd cousin in Gladesville (thanks Paul and Anne) I went to Gosford via Chatswood.  John Regan has been a great supporter of my music and it’s always great to go to the studio at Northside Sydney Radio 99.3 fm to see him for an interview and a quick catch up.  Then I met Father Rod Bower from the Anglican Parish Church for lunch in Gosford.  I have been following him for a little while now and I am very interested in the work he is doing to support the refugees in offshore detention and I just love all of his work and the way he goes about it. It was fantastic to meet him and have a chat about all matters needing our attention and compassion. Then I remembered that I had a radio interview booked for 2 BOB 104.7fm  to promote the gig in Upper Lansdowne. I managed to be ready at my phone in time for that then off I went to my next stop.

I headed over to the Rhythm Hut where I was booked to play that night and what a fantastic venue it is. Louise Sawilejskij is the lady at the helm of the Rhythm Hut and she and her team of volunteers bring it all together.  They have a fantastic venue where you can stay and a shared meal  is offered and you get to sit and chat with all the volunteers and other musicians. I was fortunate enough to be there when Nathan Cavaleri was playing so I got to have chat with him and see his gig on the Friday night, he’s a lovely young man and of course I had no idea of who he was until after the event.  Louise did give me a bit of his story just when he arrived but it really didn’t sink in until I googled him a week or so later and wow! what a surprise I had to see his incredible story.

The next day I made my way up to Upper Lansdowne where I was booked to play as a support act for Dan Walsh a great up and coming Banjo player from the UK.  I played a set and then he played and then we played a few songs together which was a lot of fun…I just love to collaborate and I can’t believe that he

let me improvise some lead on his song…he’s  a very brave man lol…. Upper Landsdowne Memorial Hall is a fantastic venue run by the local community it was a fantastic night, we had a full house and a lot of fun. The very next day I had to get back to Newcastle for a gig at the Lass O’Gowrie which was one of the low lights so I won’t talk about that one  grrrrr. Then on the same day I made my way to Glenorie where I stayed at the lovely Dimitra’s (a friend of a friend) for 3 days and for a bit of rest before I headed off to Tasmania. I was well looked after and really sorry that I missed my friends who usually stay there but hopefully I will get to see them soon.  They are also musicians and they are aways on the road.  I’m afraid the photos aren’t very good but they are just evidence that I  was there and having a great time!

I stayed for a night at a friend’s house in Sydney then I went over to Tasmania for 10 days which was organised by John Lay from Voice of the Midlands 97.1fm.

John organised the tour and initially he was planning on booking 5 to 6 gigs but it ended up only being 3 which was not the best but that’s rock and roll too folks sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. I played at the Colebrook Tavern, Midland Hotel in Oatlands and Ye Olde Buckland Inn in Buckland which was the high light and I also did a radio interview which is always a lot of fun too.

However, I managed to catch up with the lovely Dave Anger who is also a radio presenter at Voice of the Midlands and we got to spend some time together and he had his home studio set up where I recorded a demo of my song “Fly free little bird” which I have dedicated to the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. It was a very special moment and I am very grateful to Dave for the opportunity to get a demo down.

What’s Next?

Next Friday 9th March I will be playing at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery as part of the Bunbury Goodnights live music series.  I will be playing from 12 noon till 2pm and then I will be heading over the Mandurah to do a House Concert at Westy’s BnB which is run by the lovely Be Westbrook.  We met through House Concerts Australia.  House Concerts is another great way to listen to live music and get up close and personal with the musician, they are great fun and I always meet lovely people who really appreciate music.

The very big news is that I have been selected to play at the Townsville Cultural Fest in Townsville August of this year.  This is very exciting for me because it’s not easy getting into big festivals and I have been selected because the organiser likes my work which is fantastic.  This is an all ages all genres festival and a celebration of all cultures.  My songs reflect a lot of who I am and the things that matter to me the most, so to be selected based on what I write about makes it all worth while.

I do have some more very exciting news which I will share with you very soon. So watch this space folks!!

Gigs, Song writing, Sydney, Tasmania

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Finishing off the Year and bring in 2018

December 20, 2017 0 Comments

Well it’s that time of year again and what a year it has been.  I spend way too much time each day thinking that I am not doing enough in one way or another and yet when I look back on the past 12 months I can see that I’ve done more than enough to fill anyone’s calendar.

This year started with the production of my 2nd album, how could I forget that memorable 10 days? Toby came down from Perth to set up his studio in my music room and a bunch of amazing artists and friends came and put down their tracks. Tony King my teacher and mentor and Toby should get the most credit because they work so well together and I just love what they come up with everytime. While Toby finished the mixing off I went to Sydney for another tour where I got to play at some amazing places and meet some wonderful people.  It was a huge sense of achievement too because it’s not easy to go off on your own to play at venues that you’ve never played before, because you never know what reception you’re going to get.  However, had a fantastic time and I got to meet some lovely friends there including fellow musician friends who came to see me play.  

This year I have clocked up a pile of gigs too and Peter Caron joined me for  many of them which was lots of fun. It’s always good to share the stage and have a good laugh on the way home at all the things that happened throughout the night.  Thanks Peter for such a great year of musical shenanigans.  We also played at the Denmark Festival of Voice where I launched my Album “When did it change?“.

This year was also my year of House Concerts, I did more house concerts this year than I have ever done and it’s such a great experience.  I met a lot of lovely people and learnt a lot about myself and how I want to present my act.  What do I want to share with the audience? How do I do that in a way that is complementary to my music and staying true to who I am as an artist?  They are questions I ask myself everyday.  I guess I’m just working it all out as I go along.  I did house concerts in Denmark, Sydney, Kalgoorlie, Manjimup, Kendenup, Northam and Warnbro and I’m looking forward to doing my first one for 2018 in Mandurah in March.

One of the biggest things that happened for me this year was that my son Andrew went on a school trip to New York and he’s only 15 years old.  He was so excited and so were we but I was so anxious too. It was his first time away from home for such a long time and he was going to NEW YORK….I mean isn’t that the place where all sorts of terrible things happen…yeah I know I’m being a bit pathetic, but the most ridiculous things go through your head when your only child is leaving the country for a few weeks without you.  He had the time of his life and came back a new young man glowing with confidence and self esteem that no school lesson or other experience could have offered.

Finally this year was my year of many radio interviews too, I am very grateful to all the lovely presenters who invited me into their studio to talk about me and my music and especially to those who offered me an opportunity to play a song too. Not to forget the phone interviews too. They include John Regan from Northside Radio 99.3 fm, John Tonks from Voice of the Avon 101.3 fm , James Monte from Monte Famous Mondays,  John Maddison and David Sims from Albany Community Radio 109.3 fm, Chris Spencer from Australian Sporgasbord ORC fm,  ABC Kalgoorlie fm  and ABC Albany. It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to play and put your music out there.  I would like to make a special thank you you Pete Williams from Sunbury fm 99.3 fm’s “Made in the Shade” for the fantastic review of my recently released album “When did it Change?”.  It was incredibly exciting to receive such a wonderful review which I have pinned at the top of my facebook page and it’s also become a wonderful resource that I can use when applying for gigs, festivals and other events. I want to thank all the presenters who continue to play my music too, it’s only because of you guys that independent artists can get heard by a larger audience.  I would just like to thank a lovely presenter that is all the way across the states in Tasmania who plays my tracks Dave Anger from WNCM100.3 fm .  Thanks Dave and I look forward to coming in for an interview when I come to Tasmania next year.

Wishing you all a fantastic Summer break (or winter if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and I look forward to many more musical shenanigans and surprises for in 2018 including an opportunity to play at a big festival over east. More to come on that soon.  Also I will be recording my next album too…..I’ll keep you posted on that one too.

Bye for now xox

 

 

 

Albany Gigs, Denmark Gigs, Gigs, House Concderts, Sydney

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More musical shenanigans!

October 27, 2017 0 Comments

It feel’s like it was only a few days ago that I was posting to my webpage and here I am again. I never know how to start my blog posts and I’m always trying to find different ways to get the conversation going, well, not quite conversation because it’s just me talking to my computer but I think you know what I mean.

It was great to play at the Albany Boatshed Markets at the beginning of the month because we got to play on the big stage in the far corner which has a fantastic mural on the wall. A couple of people I knew were there and they were kind enough to take some pictures of us playing. The Albany Boatshed Markets has been going for 10 years now and they have supported live music by booking a couple of acts every Sunday and paying them to play.  We also get some fruit and vegi’s, free coffee and a few other treats depending on who’s there. The same day Peter and I played at the Earl of Spencer Historic Inn and Restaurant so it was a full on day.  I was worried about losing my voice after 4 hours of singing but that was fine, however, my fingers were very sore by the end of the evening. There’s things that I had never anticipated that I would have to think about before I started this musical journey.

On October 14th I had my first house concert in Northam to look forward to.  Tonks is a lovely guy from Voice of the Avon 101.3FM community radio station who has been playing my tracks for the past 12 months after I submitted them to Amrap/Airit. Amrap Airit is a not for profit organisation that promotes and supports Australian Independent artists.  Each time an artist produces an album or EP they can submit a maximum of 3 tracks to Amrap Airit where they are then distributed to Community Radio stations across Australia. It’s a fantastic service and I have had a lot of airplay through this great initiative. I have had many radio interviews and I’ve been invited to many shows to play live, with the presenters that I have built relationships with. Many of them are passionate about music and and love to find new music to play on their shows so in effect their passion supports us to do what we are passionate about. It’s a win win for everyone involved!

Anyway I’ll get back to the House Concert in Northam.  Tonks was my host and we did the concert at his friend’s house Brett and Julie.  Gracie B is an up and coming local artist so she was my support act for the night.  She did a fantastic job and we played a few tunes together too, which was a lot of fun. She’s a lovely young lady only 13 years old and is a great musician. We had a great audience who thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Tonks wrote me a beautiful review for the House Concerts Australia Network page.

Here’s a glowing review from Tonks
“On the 14th October 2017, I hosted a house concert in Northam W.A. My choice of artist for this event was @Dawn Barrington – singer/songwriter from Denmark in WA. At Dawns suggestion I also engaged a young lass from York WA – Gracie B. Gracie is an up and coming singer/songwriter who is just starting out on her musical journey.  Gracie B started proceedings with a twenty minute set and then Dawn performed a forty minute set. We then had a feed (bbq) and both artists did another set each – and a jam session.

Dawn is a consummate musical professional, great entertainer and very nice person to boot. I could not have made a better choice for my first concert. Dawn enthralled the audience during the concert with original music and some covers – and had the audience singing along with her.  Gracie B showed why is she is an up and coming talent with her unique cover versions.  Both Dawn and Gracie met for the first time immediately prior to the concert – but you would not have known that if you were to judge by their jam session!.

This was the first house concert in Northam, but will not be the last. It was a very successful concert.” Allen Tonkin, Voice of the Avon 101.3 fm

I came home on Sunday to a house full of great friends which was very exciting because we catch up around 2 times per year and we met through music which is the most exciting part. I was so looking forward to catching up with these guys we always have the best time together and the best jams. On Sunday night we had the best jam in the history of humankind, I’m biased of course lol ;O)  The guys all play in a band and they brought some friends with them this time which made it all the more fun.

Then on Saturday October 21st Peter and I joined Luke Tulloch to play some tunes at the Bahá‘u‘lláh   200th anniversary Baha u allah shares the beautiful message of hope and enlightenment to all across the planet. It was a great afternoon at Mahsa Anderson’s home in Denmark WA.

This Sunday we will be doing a house concert in Warnbro at a private home. House concerts are really starting to take off here in Australia and House Concerts Australia is where you can sign up as a host or an artist.  It’s free to sign up as a host and you can invite artists from all across Australia to play in your home. It’s a great way to meet the artist and have an affordable fun evening for you and your family and friends.  In the next few months I have some local gigs and a few out of the box gigs and then it’s Xmas!!

Upcoming Eastern States tour
Yep I’m doing it again folks!  This will be my third solo Eastern States tour in the past 18 months and this time I’m going to take the road north of Sydney although I haven’t decided how far yet or whether to do a U turn once I get to Upper Landsdowne and go southwardss. I have some bookings in Upper Landsdowne, Newcastle, Gosford and Sydney so far. I will keep you posted on the rest of the bookings when I get them.

Well that’s it from me for this month and I’ll be back next month with more shenanigans.  Over and out Folks!

Albany Gigs, Gigs, House Concderts, Photos

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It’s time for an update

September 25, 2017 0 Comments

I thought it was time for an update on what’s been happening the past few months. As soon as I got back from Kalgoorlie I started getting ready for a House Concert which is the first one that I have booked through House Concerts Australia.

It was at Arcadia Wines in Kendenup which is only an hour or so away from Denmark.  Gaye and John are a lovely couple and they have only had the cellar door open for the past 18 months and they are doing really well. They have award winning wines and I would personally recommend the aged Riesling. Gaye and John are lovers of live music and they are really passionate about having regular live music events which is awesome. All the tickets were sold and we all had a great night. The photo isn’t brilliant but it’s just evidence that I was there lol!

Then a couple of weeks later I took a trip up to the big smoke for a couple of gigs.  One in York which is about an hour east of Perth where I played at the Settlers House York, which is a beautiful old heritage building. York is the the first inland town Settled in WA.  We had a few drinks at the end of the night and I heard a few good ghost stories which was a bit unnerving.

On Sunday I played at Jackadders Music Club. I had a really warm welcome from Carmel and Ron and we had a lovely afternoon. It was great to hear the audience sing along to my original songs and the whole gig was recorded which was fantastic.

Next was one of my regular gigs at the Earl of Spencer in Albany. Peter Caron joined me on guitar and I love playing with Peter because we have a lot of fun and he adds lots of fancy guitar work to my songs, and the covers, that we do.  I usually do an even mix of originals and covers when I do pub gigs which is pretty cruisey and generally good fun.  Peter set up the video so we got some great footage of us playing too.

 

Then last but not least I did another house concert but this time in Manjimup at a beautiful historic building called Dingup House Bed and Breakfast which is managed by Chris and John.  Dingup House is one of the first houses built on the original town site of Manjimup until they moved the town a few kms down the road. Chris and John do a fantastic job there and we had a wonderful intimate evening with soup and song.  The photo isn’t the best but it just gives you an idea of the set up there.  Half the guests stayed the night and the rooms are all beautifully presented with heritage style beds and lovely patchwork bed covers. I would highly recommend a stay there if you’re travelling through that neck of the woods.

 

WHAT’S NEXT

My son has gone to New York for a school trip so my husband and I have decided to go for a little holiday across to Augusta and Margaret River and I’m going to play at the Goodfellas i cafe in Margaret River while we’re there. I know what you’re thinking….can’t she just have one weekend without playing music…and the answer is most definitely not….lol! It just so happens our friends own Goodfellas and I just love playing there.

Then the following week I’ll be doing a double gig with Peter Caron which means we will be at the Albany Boatshed Markets in the Morning and at The Earl of Spencer in the evening.  I’m really looking forward to doing a house concert in Northam in October.  I’m also busy planning another Eastern States tour for Jan/Feb or next year which is very time consuming and fun at the same time.  I’ve also been busy writing songs for recording next year.  That’s it for now folks!  Stay warm and dry in this crazy weather if you live on this side of the planet and down this far below the equator.

 

Albany Gigs, Gigs, House Concderts, Photos, Videos

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Goldfields Adventure

July 29, 2017 0 Comments

I had a fantastic time in Kalgoorlie!

It was my first ever visit and it was soooo worth the drive. I took the coastal route to Esperance then the Coolgardie Esperance road to Kalgoorlie. If you do it in one hit it takes almost 10 hours but I stopped in Esperance for a night each way so I had a decent break.

I have been utilising Air BnB a lot lately because it’s a great way to go on the road and get low cost accommodation and to be honest it makes it possible for me to take my music further afield. However, there is a down side, you never know what you’re going to get. So you just have to go with the flow and be thankful that you have a bed and shower and it’s alway clean and tidy. I had booked in at the Forest House Air BnB and little did I know that I would be sharing the venue with 11 other young men and that it would be a hostel type setup. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that the bathrooms were all shared which wouldn’t have been so bad if there had been other women staying. But I was on the only woman, so everyday I felt like I was walking into the men’s bathroom. They were all young guys (except for one) and they would stand at the sink half clad, having a shave or wash, and we would give each the obligatory nod “how you goin'” type thing and continue on our way.  All jokes aside they were very respectful and lovely guys, but another concern came to mind when I realised they were all young. Oh bugger! I thought, they’re going to be wanting to party every night and I really needed my sleep so that I could be awake and focused for my gigs, I mean I’m not getting any younger! Well it turned out that they were all fly in fly out (fifo) workers and they were working 12 hour shifts from 6am to 6pm and didn’t get home till after 6pm and they were all in bed by 9pm!  I was already out preparing for my gigs by that time and I was probably the noisey one not getting back till after midnight. So that was an interesting role reversal if ever I saw one.

E13 Session at Burt St Shop, Kalgoorlie, Photo courtesy Billy Ray Stokes

I found out at 5.30am the following morning that the train line was 50 metres from my bedroom window and the train station was a few doors down. The big diesel passenger and freight train idled in the station for around 20 mins and then every 30 mins after that another train whistled past for the next few hours. You can all see where this is heading can’t you? It’s all the things that rock and roll stories are made off….LIVING THE DREAM!! only it’s ‘FOLK N ROLL’ all the way for me folks! :O)

I didn’t get much sleep the first night to my surprise! — not — but it didn’t matter because I could sleep in for as long as I liked the next day the gig wasn’t till 7pm at night.  However, the phone rang at 9am the next morning, it was Betina from ABC Kalgoorlie radio and she had heard I was in town touring my album and that I had come all the way from Denmark WA. She wondered if I wanted to go in for an interview and to play a song.  I was like “yeah sure that would be awesome! What time did you want me in?”, “Would 10am be ok with you?” she replied.  “Yeah sure! I lied”, that would great! So I jumped out of bed got my act together tuned my guitar gargled some warm water so I could sing without croaking and headed off to the studio.  I found the studio in the nick of time after driving round town trying to find it only to find out that I had parked right outside on my first time round.

It was lovely to meet Betina the presenter and it turned out her parents were living in Denmark. That evening I had a great gig at 3b Boutique Bar where I met some lovely people and sold some CD’s which was awesome. It’s not easy going to a brand new venue to set up your PA and play and the 3b Boutique staff were fantastic and so accommodating.  The following night I played at the secret location on Burt Street. Ruben Wills from E13 Sessions has been doing some fantastic work up there in Kalgoorlie WA. He is passionate about supporting original live music and giving artists an opportunity to play their original music to an attentive audience.  It’s a fantastic event and we had the most wonderful audience, it was very much like a house concert, intimate and very engaging. It was a sellout and myself and two other great local artists played two 25 minute sets each. Ruben had organised a professional sound guy and photographer, so all we had to do, was show up with our guitar and plug in to play.  I did a lot of story telling between songs and it was great to have the whole room singing along to my songs.  I went away with a very warm glow that night.

All in all Kalgoorlie is very interesting place to visit, it’s quite a culture shock from the regular country towns and I don’t know if if was just me, or fact, but there seemed to be a lot of men there.  I mean a lot of men….like way more men than women :O)  Not only that but I couldn’t help notice the high volume of white dual cab ute’s with an orange light on top.  They all seemed to be driving around as if on a mission as part of a secret covert operation, ok my imagination is getting a bit carried away now……not to forget that they were all clad in the Aussie safety gear which is  fluorescent orange or yellow and blue blue in colour. The supermarkets were full of these solo men doing their shopping and I have say that on the whole they were very friendly too.  But I couldn’t help feeling that I was on different paradigm to the one that I have become accustomed to in Denmark. I mean we hear all about the mining boom and the hoards of money being made but I didn’t get the sense that people were drowning in wealth.  I got the sense that they were all working very hard and doing their best to enhance the community.  All in all I found Kalgoorlie people very friendly and I felt a real sense of community there too.

I had a fantastic time, I met some lovely people and I sold a heap of albums and all too quickly it was time to get back on the road.

My next stop is Kendenup next Friday where I will be doing a House Concert at Arcadia Wines.

 

Gigs, Photos

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