Christmas Wrap Up & Hello There Tasmania!


As 2014 hurtles towards its end I can't help feeling that this has been an amazing year for me. In many ways it has been the best and worst year ever. It will always be the year in which I lost my much loved father Ray, and even more bewilderingly my dear little sister Liz. I've been through a few things in my 52 years on this earth but never had my heart torn up like this. I'll be glad to put this one behind me. On the other hand, what a brilliant year for music! Some ripper solo shows and the coming of age of my musical partnership with the wonderful Suzette Herft. Suzette has done amazing things for my music. She's a good friend and fun to work with. It's great when making music is a joy and playing music with Suzette is always uplifting and rewarding. I think this comes over in our shows and it has rubbed off on my solo shows as well. 
Another highlight for me has been the support and encouragement of some other friends, particularly Chris Lazzaro, Trevor Shard (Wax Lyrical) and Neil Mitchell (Blues & Roots Radio) as well as Phil Young (3MDR), Edward Nass (Badfolk) and everybody down at the Peninsula Folk Music Club. You have all been far too kind and the support you have shown for my songwriting and performing is humbling and really appreciated. I'd like to make special mention of my great friend and neighbor Gordon Tresider who has put up with many evenings of my bleating and strumming in his home studio while I've been getting these songs down. His patience is endless (as is his supply of Chai Tea)! I can't talk about collaborators without mentioning my brilliant brother Richard Evans. Richard is now learning guitar himself so he might not want to give me any more of his amazing lyrics. I hope he does though, and I look forward to some more Evans brothers songs in the new year.
2015 is kicking off in style with Suzette and myself heading down to Tassie to play the Tamar Valley Folk Festival from Friday, Jan 16 - 18, Mountain Mumma on Jan 18 and Rosny Barn in Hobart on Jan 21st. We will probably be playing in Launceston on the 19th or 20th but this is still to be confirmed. March will see us at the Port Fairy Folk Festival for the second year running which is a great honour!
Lastly none of this would be possible without the love and support from my lovely wife Ann and beautiful daughter Sofia. Without them there would be no songs in my heart. I really am a lucky fella!
I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year and look forward to bringing you some new music (I've got some surprises in the can) and some more homespun philosophy and yarns. In the meantime have a listen to the site wide player on this site. I've done a bit of George Martin style cutting and splicing of some old (and not so old) songs and riffs over the top of the sounds of a typical spring afternoon in Preston. If you listen closely you can here the rumble of the route 86 trams as they round the corner at the top of the Plenty Road hill.

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