National Folk Festival - the Infinite Song Contest

Nicole was a finalist in the Infinite Song Contest with a bit of an all-star scratch band!

The Infinite's theme this year was Top 100 songs of 1967, the year the National Folk Festival started, and I wrote a parody of Penny Lane, called Budawang.

Keith Donnelly enthusiastically agreed to back me on guitar and we spent a bit of time finding out how clever the Beatles were by looking up the chords on my phone. When we got to the Marquee for the heat, by happy accident Peter Grayling and George Butrumlis were backstage and also keen to make mischief, so a rather good instant band got through to the final, and actually got to sing the song, which is a bit of a love song to the festival's main venue, in the Budawang!

A few people have asked for the words, so here they are, to the tune of Penny Lane. A one two three..

Budawang (Infinite Song Contest 2016 finalist)

Nicole Murray

Penny Lane was once a bar down by the Budawang,

Where we would head to drink our pleasure, you know

And all the people that come and go, stop and say hello

On the corner is a busker with accordion

The Morris dancers laugh at him behind his back

And the busker doesn't make a zac, in the pouring rain

Very strange

Budawang is in my ears and in my eyes,

There beneath the blue Canberran skies

I sit and lean right back.

In the Container is the Pride Choir for an hour or so

And their supporters are all dancing with the queens

With cups of coffee from the espresso team

With their clean machine

Budawang is in my ears and in my eyes

Coorong, Marquee, Carnival, Piazza

Meanwhile back

Behind a table in the middle of the session bar

The volunteers are selling Guinness from a tray

Surrounded by the violins that play

Through the night and day.

In Budawang we'd rather have another Fagans song

We see the audience all waiting for a sing

And then the Fiddle Rally rushes in, from the pouring rain

Very strange

Budawang is in my ears and in my eyes

With four-part harmony it flies, in autumn

Meanwhile back in

Budawang is in my heart and in my mind

There beneath the flags and sunny skies

Budawang

(performed by Nicole Murray, Keith Donnelly, Peter Grayling and George Butrumlis)

Clouded House!

CD LAUNCH - 2pm, Sunday 20 March, at The Danish Club, Brisbane.

We are at last celebrating our latest album, “Clouded House” and we're doing it in style - a double CD launch with our great friends, Rebecca Wright and Donald McKay, who are launching their brand new recording, “Over Burns and Braes” with us in Brisbane on March 20. The concert will showcase beautiful acoustic music from the heart, with luscious harmonies and instrumentation in a family-friendly Sunday afternoon show at the Danish Club, Austin Street, Newstead.

‘Clouded House’, our eighth album, combines traditional folk music and originals that we think are pretty compelling.  From flying monks and homeless beavers to convict escapees and desperate lovers, the album is packed with captivating Australian and Anglo-Celtic stories. The mix of originals and trad is a result of our regular touring, when we have taken Australia’s unknown stories to overseas audiences and collected choice songs to share at home, a very enjoyable cultural exchange!  We've enriched our sound by inviting our long-time collaborator Emma Nixon to join the band, adding viola, violin and voice to our mix. Emma loved touring with us in the UK in 2015, and as a triple Golden Fiddle winner, for her solo album and for teaching, she enhances our performances, and runs great workshops at festivals, too!

We are sharing the launch with the wonderful Rebecca Wright and Donald McKay, who finished their new album last month. Here's a little about it:

With a cover design that would be just as at home on a 19th Century bookshelf as it is on a modern day coffee table, Wright & McKay’s new album ‘Over Burns and Braes’ is a true work of art. Historic songs of Highlanders, pipers and convicts from Donald’s homeland transport listeners to another place and time, whilst Rebecca’s self-penned lullabies and true tales, along with a stunning rendition of Judy Small’s ‘Sky of the Southern Cross’, bring them back to Australia today. “We are very proud of this album, as it reflects not only our connection with Scotland and the past, but also explores our current journey of making a life together in Australia,” Rebecca said.

The Double CD Launch will take place at The Danish Club, Austin Street, Newstead, on Sunday 20th March. Doors open 2pm. $20 Adult, $15 Concession $40 Family. Tickets available from TryBooking.

Keep up with the event news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/549825091862733/