AWARD winning instrumental Scottish folk trio, Assynt and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Jackie Marshall are the feature performers in the Festival of Small Halls Summer Tour.
The dates and venues for the ‘Summer Tour 2023: Queenscliff Music Festival to Woodford Music Festival’ were announced this week.
Included in the 18 tour stop communities on the east coast of Queensland are the small halls at Kooralbyn in the Scenic Rim, Marburg in rural Ipswich and at Esk in the Somerset region.
Tour producer, Isobel Bartlett says the Summer Tour, which begins in the small town of Queenscliff beside Port Philip Bay in Victoria and ends at the Woodford Folk Festival, is the 36th of its kind in Australia.
“The Festival of Small Halls is a series of tours that takes some of the best folk and contemporary acoustic artists and sends them on the road to halls in communities all over Australia,” she said.
“Each night on the tour is a beautiful occasion for original music, and a chance [for patrons] to catch up with family and friends over cake and tea during a supper break.”
And Ms Bartlett described the experience for the artists as a “pinnacle of touring – celebrating and fostering community spirit, resilience, and passion”.
“We’re so grateful to be welcomed into these amazing small towns, and to put shows on with our incredibly talented dynamic artists.
“Together, we forge events that are retold as stories from the drive home to the dinner table for years to come”.
Headliner on the Summer Tour, Assynt, are equally enthusiastic.
“We have been looking forward to touring Australia as part of the Small Halls tour for over four years now!” is a comment the trio particularly wanted to see in print.
“[It’s] a little later than planned due to the pandemic, we are excited to showcase our Scottish music for the Australian audiences and experience the culture in Queensland and Victoria!”.
Assynt features Graham Mackenzie on fiddle, David Shedden on pipes and whistles and Pablo Lafuente on guitar.
The official launch of the band happened in 2018 as did the release of their debut album ‘The Road to the North’. They were awarded ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Inspired by the great piping, fiddle and Gaelic traditions of the Highlands of Scotland, Assynt’s self-penned melodies are “refreshingly contemporary” (Folk Radio UK) while remaining true to the music traditions they are rooted in.
Singer-songwriter, Jackie Marshall is also looking forward to the … “huge pleasure [of] heading out on the road for Small Halls”.
“I love being in motion, soaking up the colours of this beautiful country, meeting new people with fascinating stories, and experiencing the joy of performing to intimate audiences in venues rich with the feeling of personal connection. I feel incredibly fortunate to be involved.”
Jackie Marshall calls herself a “heart-centred anarchist”.
Heavily influenced by the Western folk and country music of the 1960s and 70s, and later, jazz and improvised music afforded her a unique personal and personable style which she has built upon since the release of her Australian Music Prize shortlisted debut album ‘Fight n’Flight’ in 2006.
“Her performances brim with all the energy, warmth, presence and experience of a complicated life distilled into song, reaching far into the hearts minds and souls of intrepid music lovers at home and abroad,” says Ms Bartlett.
The Festival of Small Halls reaches Kooralbyn on December 12, Esk on December 15 and Marburg on December 16.
