About The Orphanage Sessions
Original Australian country/roots music in one of Sydney’s intimate and personal venues.
Next gig:
Ronni Rae Rivers + The Orphans
8.30pm Saturday 21st November
Mars Hill Café
331 Church Street
Parramatta NSW
$15 at the door
The Mars Hill Café
Mars Hill Café is a local music and art venue as well as a cool place to hang out.
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Who's playing
The Orphanage Sessions showcases the best country/roots musicians Sydney has to offer as well highlighting emerging artists who are making an impact on the country/roots scene.
Coming up
Ronni Rae Rivers
Saturday November 21st, 8.30pm
$15 at the door
I told our pedal steel player Mike Kirkley I'd organized for Ronni Rae Rivers to play a session and he nearly fell over exclaiming: "You got who? How'd you do that?" We'll have had blues, folk, bluegrass, roots and Americana guests this year so why not throw in some good, old country rock.
However, Ronni Rae is no one trick pony. She spent two years working as a songwriter in Nashville and has a degree in astrophysics. Sydney-based music writer Jason Walker described her as filling his need for a "honky-tonk queen".
Ronni will help us finish the year off in style at The Orphanage Sessions this November.
Past Artists
Ange Takats
Saturday October 17th, 8.30pm
$10 at the door
The folk scene's favourite daughter. If you want to see a comprehensive list of all the folk festivals in Australia then read Ange's gig list - she's playing or has played every single one of them.
She's got an album out called Aniseed Tea and she's flying down from Brisbane especially to play for us. We're looking forward to taking her out of the folk club and into The Orphanage.
The Wildes
Saturday September 19th, 8.30pm
$15 at the door
Caitlin Harnett brought these guys along to one of our shows in Tamworth at the start of the year. Out of courtesy we showed up the next day to one of their shows. Boy were we blown away! We ended up at almost every show they played for the rest of the week and Mike sat in with them on his Pedal Steel for a few shows as well.
These guys are shaking up country music in Australia with their Nick Cave meets Johnny Cash, alt-country ballads. We're thrilled to have these guys as our guests and this will be one Orphanage Session not to miss. If you only make it along once this year, then make it this one.
Racz 'n Waters
Saturday August 15th, 8.30pm
$10 at the door
Ingrid, Karen and Tahlia joined us lasted year for a dose of their acoustic guitar, mandolin and bodhran driven sounds. Since then they've hit the studio to record their debut album with Karl Broadie producing.
Last time they appeared they filled the room with both people and music - expect this year to be no different. Imagine traditional celtic music meets country - kind of a Corrs meets Dixie Chicks. And can these girls sing harmonies - wow!
Nick & Liesl
Saturday July 18th, 8.30pm
$10 at the door
Last year we had the privilege of contributing a track to Home Grown Roots 3. When it came out there was one local artist on it whose track stood out. A short time later we got to share the stage with them at The Vanguard for the launch of the album. We hit them up straight after the gig to play an Orphanage Session in 2009 and they agreed.
Coming down from the Central Coast these guys are natural songwriters, with strong harmonies and aren't afraid to mix it up on a variety of instruments whilst on stage. We're looking forward to having these guys make the trip to Sydney to play with us again.
Lianna Rose
Saturday June 20th, 8.30pm
$10 at the door
We were sitting having a drink with Lianna Rose and she said to us, "I've decided to take my music more seriously, so I've got myself a day job." One year later her debut album Soak Up The World is out and she's had a single in the top 20 country charts. Not bad for a girl who rejected offers from record labels and chose to go it on her own.
Expect the sort of songs that Sheryl Crow would write if she was shorter and liked to rock out.
Caitlin Harnett
Saturday May 16th, 8.30pm
$10 at the door
When we came up with the crazy idea of running a monthly gig with special guests, Caitlin very kindly kicked it off as our first special guest. She showed up with her new guitar named "Jimmy" and wow'ed us all with her repertoire of original songs. Since then she's played at The Basement, won the young songwriter of the year award at Appollo Bay Folk Festival and recorded her first EP Tiny Spark.
We welcome Caitlin back to The Orphanage Sessions in May.
Karl Broadie
Saturday April 18th, 8.30pm
$15 at the door
Karl was one of the first people we met when we started on this crazy, crazy road called music, so it seemed only natural to ask him to produce our debut album. Our respect for him as musican has only increased since doing so. This is a man who strives above all to make every song as good as it can be.
His first album Nowhere Now Here was recorded in a shed under the flight path into Sydney Airport and praised worldwide for being the best, big budget, American production of the year. The title track of his next album Black Crow Calling won the Americana section of the International Songwriters Competition. He's just recorded another album and I hear that's going to be pretty good too.
Karl returns in April to play his second Orphanage Session.
Lucie Thorne
Saturday March 21st, 8.30pm
$15 at the door
After having The Yearlings as our guests last year, they came back to Sydney later in the year to play a gig at The Basement. The asked Lucie Thorne to make the trip from her hometown, the Bega Valley, to Sydney to support them. On The Yearlings recommendation she gave us a call to see if she could play an Orphanage Session as a side show, but unfortunately we were all booked out. I went along to The Basement gig and heard her play and promised her straight away we'd fit her in this year.
Expect her to stride on stage with a red electric guitar plugged into a dirty sounding, tweed covered amplifier and to couple that with sweet sounding, melodic vocals singing lyrics about everyday life. She's a little bit Kathleen Edwards, but rawer and more intimate - everything The Orphanage Sessions stand for.
Anyway, we're proud to have her as our guest at our March session.
The Blues Preachers
Saturday February 21st, 8.30pm
$15 at the door
Brother John Morris is the guy to go to if you can play guitar, but want to learn how to play it brilliantly and Captain Bluetongue (AKA Doug Lyons) is the guy you go to if you want to learn how to really play the harmonica (I did just that and that's how I met these guys). Together they play the meanest, most-coolest, pre-war blues that you can hear in this country.
Harnessing the spirit of the deep south and the Appalachian Mountains these guys are a favourite at the Australian Blues Music Festival in Goulburn and have been asked to be special guests with Diesel on his Project Blues Tour. This February they're our special guests to kick off 2009's Orphanage Sessions.
2008 Artists
Read about our guests from 2008.