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folk

Jonah Matranga

Jonah Matranga is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under both his own name and Onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands Far, New End Original (an anagram of “onelinedrawing”) and Gratitude. Jonah Matranga grew up in and around Boston, Massachusetts. He left in 1987 to attend Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where he majored in English. After College, Jonah moved to Sacramento, where he lived for 8 years. Jonah married in April 1994, and his daughter was born that August.

Daniel Champagne

Recently described as 'the most talked-about rising star of Australia's next generation' Daniel Champagne delivers one of the most impressive one-man-shows out there!

Reaching to musical depth’s far beyond his years and a way with the guitar that can only be seen to be believed. Champagne often sounds closer to a three-piece band than the 21 year old singer songwriter guitarist now established as a renowned performer on both the Australian and international stage.

A reputation on his instrument of choice firmly established, recent descriptions of the live show state 'Proof that the acoustic guitars only limit is our imagination' (Lloyd Spiegel) and 'The best young guitarist in Australia' (IFC President). Daniel's playing runs from the instruments soul to way outside of its box. His Signature explosion of 2-hand tapping, body percussion and fiery runs in a swag of different tunings can be expected. As can the jazzy finger picking and tasteful improvisation of someone that first picked up the instrument at seven years old and as it would seem, hasn’t put it down since.

The same versatility can be said for his writing and material. Pulling off setts from intense blues-driven crowd pleasers, experimental compositions, bags of originals to century old Folk and Blues Songs delivered with an exiting youthful flair. As for the voice...'He sings with a wonderfully pronounced and proud Aussie twang, howling here, hushed there, always confident, fearless and knowing' (Jamie Forbes)

In all, a live show to mark as an absolute must see!

Having released two celebrated studio EPs - 'My Own Design' (2009) and 'Wide Eyed and Open' (2010). Daniel has now taken his explosive live show to all corners of his homeland and received an overwhelming response on an international level. He has performed at some of the fore-most world renowned Folk and Blues festivals including Woodford, Byron Bay Bluesfest, Nationals (Australia) Vancouver Folk, Salmon Arm Roots & Blues (Canada) to name a few. After Sharing stages with some of the leaders in acoustic music today and been marked as a true light in its future Daniel Champagne now holds a firm reputation for dropping jaws, breaking guitars and making festivals buzz wherever he goes!

PRESS QUOTES
"Daniel is proof that the acoustic guitars only limit is our imagination. It's a thrill to see a young artist with so much creativity, desire and talent using the instrument in a unique way" (Lloyd Spiegel)

"The best young guitarist in Australia" (IFC President)

"His on-stage presence radiates a musical maturity well beyond his years and a phenomenal method of playing the guitar leaves audiences thrilled' (TE Herald, Newcastle)

"It's his guitar work that really steals the show. Champagne has not only mastered his instrument, he's conquered it! Reaching into Folk, Blues, Classical, Jazz, Rock and other styling’s, with nods to virtuosos too numerous to mention. Champagne has created a pastiche all of his own... I cannot recommend this cd highly enough. Buy it, spread the word, something wonderful is happening down here" (BDN)

"A precarious young talent in the guitar world!" (Rhythms Magazine)

PERFORMANCE REVIEW
'Today I saw the future of Folk! - Festival goers flocking in their thousands towards main stage to witness the young musical phenomenon from Australia dish out an absolute show-stopper at the evening’s end.

It's not often that what we are told in this industry is reality, but I can tell you...the hype surrounding this kid is!

Daniel Champagne's guitar skills are indeed unparalleled, I've seen all the great players but have never heard such a sound come out of one instrument. Prowling the stage with it swinging around his shoulders and through the air, his hands are a blur as he taps notes with both hands, beats out rhythms on the body and toys with our emotion in a musical rollercoaster running from all out attach to complete silence with a mere slide of hand. Each song is a polished gem delivered in the vein of a old Folk troubadour, yet with an exiting youthful flair. But it's the manner in which he holds his audience...his commanding stage presence, cheeky road stories of a 21yr old on the international circuit and his old school dancing-in-the-crowd, guitar behind the head showmanship that had the audience in hysterics and had me convinced that we've really struck gold here.

In the modern age of Hip Hop and processed rock music where our folk players are getting pushed to the festival side stages in place of the more 'popular' acts. It’s a true joy to see a young performer steeped in our rich folk tradition who is able to hold a festival crowd both young and old with just a guitar, a voice and an old thing called talent!' (Exert from ‘The Firefly Column’ San Francisco by Anthony James)

FESTIVAL APPEARENCES
- Byron Bay Bluesfest
- Woodford Folk Festival
- Queenscliff Music Festival
- Australian Blues Music Festival
- National Folk Festival
- Vancouver Folk Festival (Canada)
- Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival (Canada)

Fairbridge Festival, Corinbank Music and Arts Festival, Snowy Mountain's of Music Festival, Wallaby Creek Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Illawarra Folk Festival, Mt Beauty Music Muster, Palm Creek Folk Festival, Red Deer Festival, Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival, Cobargo Folk Festival, Candelo Village Festival, Tilba Easter Festival, Bega Valley Transition Festival, Tuross Music Festival and many more...
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Tinpan Orange

Tinpan Orange have spent the past year making themselves at home in the live music venues and jazz clubs of Melbourne, sharing the stage with artists such as Renee Geyer, The Whitlams, Clare Bowditch, Deborah Conway, Pete Murray and Tim Rogers. Having enjoyed the success of their first independent album, Aroona Palace, Tinpan Orange are almost bursting at seams to lay down the next one, beginning recording in late October 2006. The evolution of the live Tinpan sound will be captured at its richest point yet.

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The Beautiful Girls

The beautiful girls are an Australian band from the New South Wales coast composed of Mat McHugh on vocals and guitar, Paulie B on bass and Bruce Braybrooke on drums. TBG have released three full length albums: Learn Yourself, We're Already Gone and Ziggurats; as well as one EP, Morning Sun, TBG have an eclectic style of their own, with smatterings of rock, acoustic, reggae, pop and folk all through their music. Many people find elements of artists such as Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and The Police.

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The Waifs

The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 in Albany, Western Australia, by Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocals), and sistersVikki Thorn (née Simpson) (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals). Their tour band includes Ben Franz (bass) and David Ross Macdonald (drums).

The band's 2003 album Up All Night reached the top five of the Australian Albums Chart, it achieved double platinum status and won four ARIA Awards in October. Two further top five albums were issued, Sun Dirt Water in 2007 and Temptation in 2011. The Waifs have three top fifty singles, "London Still" (2002), "Bridal Train" (2004) and "Sun Dirt Water". The band supported Bob Dylan on his 2003 Australian tour and then his 2003 North American tour, including a gig at the Newport Folk Festival.

The Waifs founded the independent label Jarrah Records in July 2002, co-owned with fellow musician John Butler, and their common manager Phil Stevens, which handles their Australian releases. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Sons & Daughters

Sons and Daughters are:
Adele Bethel - Vocals, guitar, piano
David Gow - Drums, Percussion
Ailidh Lennon - Bass, mandolin, piano
Scott Paterson - Vocals, guitar Their debut album, The Repulsion Box was released in June 2005. In February 2006 the band were invited to tour with Morrissey on the first leg of his UK tour. Their second album, This Gift, produced by Bernard Butler, was released on 28 January 2008. Mirror Mirror, their third album, was released on 13 June 2011. Albums
2003: Love the Cup (EP)

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Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Benjamin Francis Leftwich (Born September 4, 1989) is an English singer-songwriter from York. Leftwich began playing music at the age of ten and grew up listening to The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone before discovering such singer-songwriters as Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, and Elliott Smith. He decided to use his middle name as part of his stage moniker as he felt Ben Leftwich was "a bit too snappy." His debut album 'Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm' was released on July 3, 2011 in the United Kingdom.

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Jim Ward

He is the former lead singer/guitarist of the post-hardcore band, Sparta, which is currently on an indefinite hiatus. Ward is also founding member and lead singer of Sleepercar. He was formerly the guitarist/backup vocalist in the post-hardcore band At The Drive-In.

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