Nokosee Fields & Ryan Nickerson

Nokosee Fields and Ryan Nickerson come to us from Louisiana, USA. They have devoted many years to the old-time musical traditions of southern Appalachia and the Midwest, inspired particularly by the sounds and rhythms of the music’s earliest recordings. Along the way their musical interests have broadened to include many other varieties of traditional music, incorporating material from Early Blues, Country, and Cajun into their performances. The great nephew of celebrated Cherokee fiddler Sam O’Fields, Nokosee carries a longstanding Cherokee fiddling tradition into the present. In his concerts and recordings, he reimagines his tradition with great skill and sensitivity as a performer of traditional fiddle music. He has won some of the most prestigious contests in the United States and has performed and taught at flagship festivals and workshops.

www.nokoseefieldsmusic.com/

The Cartwheels

The Cartwheels are Golden Guitar winners Wendy Phypers and Dave Patterson. The Cartwheels have wowed audiences at festivals around Australia and has a live show that features Wendy’s amazing voice, country, bluegrass and western swing including Wendy’s original songs. Wendy appeared with the iconic American band The Time Jumpers in 2019 in Nashville and brought the house down. They recorded their fifth studio album ‘The Cartwheels’ in Victoria and Nashville in 2019. The album was in the finals of the 2020 Music Victoria Awards for Country Album of the year. They are in the process of recording their sixth album. The Cartwheels new single Who Cares is a song about growing older, but with love in your heart and has charted in the AMRAP singles charts and reached the number one position in the Australian Country Radio chart. In  2024 they have so far played at the  Tamworth Country Music Festival, Yarra Junction Fiddlers Convention, Mountain Pickers Association, Melbourne Sanford Bush Music Festival, Chill Out Festival, Daylesford, Vic Old Fashioned Music Weekend, Brooweena, Qld Penola Arts Festival, S.A., Crows Nest Country Music Fest Qld, Back to Basics Muster Qld.

Wendy Phypers: vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle and banjo
Dave Patterson: double bass and vocals

Andrew Clermont’s SA 2024 Supper Club  

(10 piece band)

www.andrewclermont.com.au

The Wedgetail Beagles

Wedgetail Beagles?! Delightfully quirky band name but look who the members are! With Sally Carter, Mark Pottenger, Andrew Barcham and Keith Rea, we can certainly expect great things

Inkling

Inkling is a unique trio of violin, mandolin and cello playing joyful, quirky and adventurous folk music. Appearing at 2024 Three Bridges Festival, The Q Gallery, Ern Malley bar and Urrbrae House twilight series, Wirrina Bluegrass and Roots Festival (2022), the Wheatsheaf Hotel, Carrick Hill, Auburn Heritage Arts and numerous other concerts since 2021, these are three talented, experienced and outstandingly versatile musicians. Largely original music composed by cellist Allye Sinclair, with some tunes collected from Celtic, European or other improvisatory traditions, Inkling brings a lively, versatile and sophisticated palette of sounds to the strings that will make you want to move, smile and listen in close.

Allye Sinclair: Cello
Dylan Woolcock: Mandolin
Rob Wallace: Violin

Fiddle We Must

Fiddle We Must — a line-up of  Bluegrass brilliance home grow in Adelaide! During the pandemic bubble, when Ashley Turner and John Yerxa were deprived of their regular jams at ‘The Gov’, they continued to meet up to explore banjo/fiddle duets. Over time, Geoff Bridgland joined in the bi-weekly sessions, soon followed by Stephen Loss bringing guitar, bass and vocals.
Fiddler Ashley Turner is one of the most in-demand side musicians in SA, performing and recording with Western Swing, Old-time, Jazz, Rock, and Folk performers. Geoffrey Bridgland has been a stalwart of South Australia’s Bluegrass scene for 50 years, playing banjo and fiddle with the long-running band Bluegrass Junction. Stephen Loss got his first guitar at age 13, and soon discovered Bluegrass. He also plays bass with Bluegrass Junction. John Yerxa grew up musically in the old-time revival scene on the US West Coast in the 70’s, playing guitar, banjo and bass in a variety of Old-time performing and square dance bands.

Sue Baker & The Sourdoughs

Sue Baker has been writing songs for 20+ years in the genres of acoustic folk /roots /alt-country. She performs with her band ‘The Sourdoughs’ either as a duo, trio or 5 piece line-up—depending upon the occasion. A prolific songwriter, her work has been acknowledged through:

• SCALA FOOM Finalist for 7 consecutive years. 2018–2024
• Winner of SCALA’s ‘3 Lyricists Go Into a Bar’, 2023 Competition.
• A Finalist in SA Music 2022 Awards for People’s Choice, Blues & Roots category, for my “Lovers Moon” album
• Shortlisted in 2021 Australian Songwriting Association competition in the ‘Australia’ category.
• 2016 Quorn Battle of the Bands–  3 awards.

It will be great to see these talented SA locals up on the big stage at Wirrina!

www.suebaker.com.au

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The Good Questions

The Good Questions observe the wonder of life, the universe and everything and express their musings into song. Their music ranges from emotionally introspective soundscapes to some good ol’ rock n roll and everything in between.

Born from a collaboration between SA locals, Marta Bayly and Simon Molloy,  The Good Questions ethereal guitars blend perfectly with acoustic sounds, and well-crafted songs. Marta Bayly and Simon Molloy share the vocals on stage with Marta’s superb voice perfectly complementing Simon’s huskier tones. The combination of Alex Clermont’s smooth lead guitar with Bayly’s pizzicato uke is indeed captivating.

The Good Questions are Simon Frank, Marta Bayly, Alex Clermont, Craig Lauritsen and Paul Rupinskas.

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www.thegoodquestions.com

Jonathon Ashley

Jonathon Ashley will be heading over the border from Victoria to share his talent with us—with English and Scottish Folk Ballads, and Appalachian Banjo Tunes. Jonathon is a multi-instrumentalist playing finger-style guitar, melodic clawhammer style, five string banjo and harmonica.

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Crooked Road

This band is Bluegrass royalty at Wirrina!  They play wonderful arrangements of harmony-driven originals and songs by their favourite musicians; Songs about trains, whisky, death, relativity, love, trucks, despair, geography, roadkill, rain and lost car keys! As individuals, Crooked Road’s line-up has played in The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, The Skillet Lickers, The Bill Chambers Band, Country Comfort,  Shut Up and Deal,  Highly Strung, The Bridgland Brothers, Old South Bluegrass Band, The Rank Strangers, Savoir Plunk, The Buckshot Boogie Band, Dingo Ridge, The Borderers, Kelly’s Revenge, The Dags, Spiral Dance, Los Gatos Locos, and The Barkers.

As well as regular performers at Wirrina, Crooked Road have played regularly at the Fleurieu Folk Festival, the Sandford Bush Festival, Harrietville Bluegrass Festival, Mountaingrass and the Wooden Boats Festival.

Dave Taylor: Bass & vocals
Andrew Hook: Mandolin guitar & vocals
Phill Parker: Guitar & vocals
Leonard Cohen: Dobro & vocals
Richard Tonkin: Fiddle, Accordian & vocals

www.crookedroad.com.au
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Vetter og villskap

We welcome Vetter og villskap back to Wirrina. A Nordic band with fiddle, banjo, guitar. ‘Vetter og villskap’ translates to ‘supernatural beings and wildness’. Their music merges ancient stories and Scandi-Folk melodies with new arrangements and Norwegian singer-songwriter tunes.

The Escape Pods

Newcomers to the Wirrina stage, The Escape Pods are a local Adelaide band. While usually found plugged in and exploring the outer reaches of psychedelic and progressive rock, The Escape Pods are trading in their electric instruments for an intimate yet energetic acoustic set. They’ll delve into their roots, exploring the bluegrass, folk, and country influences that shape their unique musical tapestry for an unforgettable acoustic journey. Expect to hear reimagined originals alongside covers ranging from Johnny Cash to Billy Strings, with hints of 60s-70s icons and modern Australian favourites like Tame Impala.

Featuring:
Liam Howard-Fabretto – vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica;
Rob Jenkin – keyboard, guitar, vocals;
Jake Regan – upright bass, vocals;
Rob Grierson – drums.

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Lasseter’s Gold

Lasseter’s Gold is a popular Adelaide folk band established in 2007.  The band has a wealth of musical experience and specialises in running bush dances and performing Celtic music, Australian bush songs and a wide range of folk songs. Members Rhys Williams (electric bass, vocals), Kyffin Williams (guitar, vocals), Charles Sharrad (accordion, harmonica, vocals) and Kath Kennedy (fiddle, vocals), have been playing in the South Australian folk scene for many years in various bands. The band won the Frances Folk Gathering Bandemonium competition and were runners up on their previous three entries. Lasseter’s Gold will be running a bush dance at the Festival. No prior experience is needed because the band will be teaching all of the steps. Bush dancing is fun for all ages, so come along and join us in the old woodshed.

The Adelaide Scottish Fiddle Club

The Adelaide Scottish Fiddle Club was founded in 2002 to encourage an interest in the musical heritage of Scotland, and to provide a supportive environment for the playing of this rich repertoire of music. The club has members ranging in age from ‘under-eights’ to ‘over-eighties’ and caters for all levels of playing ability. As regular performers at Wirrina, their sets are always a joy!

www.adelaidescottishfiddleclub.com.au