Juzzie Smith... Wow. Full Stop.

At the Byron Bay Farmer's markets, you don't expect to hear an incredible musician, one that is a dead-set one man phenomenon....

Juzzie plays, ready for it.... all at the same time... harmonica, guitar, kick-drum and either a shaker or tamborine. This is not some country-show type farce, Juzzie produces a tight, strong and jammin blues sound...

I was blown away and had to buy his album, "Takin Time Out", which, I keep listening to and just keep finding new levels within the songs.

"La-La" and "Taking Time Out" are probably two of my favourites.

Check out Juzzie at http://www.juzziesmith.com/home

Now, if you're not impressed by this video, I'm sorry, I can't help you...

Seriously amazing. You must see this guy live.

Another Friday night at the Bangalow pub and another great acoustic gig.

Josh boots, solo, knocked out a great set to a small crowd. Josh worked his way through some covers while mixing in a couple of originals, with his voice and incredible guitar playing creating a sound much bigger than just a one-person sound....

Josh plays in and around Byron.
Check him out at http://www.joshboots.com.au/

Slightly different than others, Josh's guitar playing drives his sound and his vocals complement this...

Definitiely worth a listen if you catch him!

Sam Shine - blues is alive..

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Sam Shine at the Owl & Pussy Cat in Byron on a Friday night. Let's just say that this guy has a monster voice and great guitar.

He knocked out covers such as Paul Kelly's "from little things big things grow" to some classics from the stones.

I kept on thinking his voice sounded a lot like the lead singer from "Hootie & The Blowfish", that rock/bluesy sound.

If you are in need of a blues fix check out Sam Shine.

http://www.myspace.com/samtshine

Firetree - On Fire!

Ok - this was a mismatch. Here you have a polished, truly talented duo playing to a small crowd at the Bangalow pub, just jamming... putting a damn good show. These guys were hard to fault, at all, they were just so spot on, in every way.

The group played a lot of numbers from their album, "The Space Between."

This indie group oscillates between, folk and chill-out and laid-back rock, producing an easy listening yest different sound.

Both are talented, no doubt, vocals catch you and their sound is refined.

Check out firetree @ http://thefiretree.com/

The new album, "Vega", is damn good as well.

Here's clip of them performing on a canadian tv show....

Vince Vaccaro - this guy is the real deal...

Well it's been a while between posts, but I've got a bagfull of good ones... here we go...

Vince Vaccaro http://www.vincevaccaro.com/

I caught Vince and a drummer mate performing at Mokha cafe in Byron Bay on a friday night about a month ago...

Let me tell you, the cafe was packed and people were standing on around on the street just watching an listening to his laid-back sounds.

With a sound that mixes jack johnson/xavier rudd style riffs with a more musical, rhythmic vibe, Vince had the crowd in his hand with a mix of originals and creative covers...

Here's a clip of one his song's "Catch a Fire"... just so cruisy... this guy is definitely under the radar, but, if you get a chance, catch him live... guitar and vocals.. he's the real deal.. won't be surprised to see him take off in the near future, hope he heads back to Byron soon.

Stoked with Tim, Tim Stokes that is....

Ok so here's the story. It was 8.30am at the Bangalow famers markets on a Saturday morning and I had one thing on my mind - coffee. Walking into the market, we saw Tim playing acoustic guitar and singing these great songs. I had to do a double take and make sure it wasn't 8.30pm.... yep, it was Saturday 8.30am.. so while everyone was enjoying all the great fresh produce, they were chilling out to Tim's relaxed vibe. Good sound, couple of really interesting songs as well...

After further investigation, I checked out his website http://timstokesmusic.com/fr_home.cfm and had a listen to some more stuff and found he really has a visual song-writing style, telling stories of traveling, places, struggle and the good stuff of life...

Tim is gigging heavily in the Northern Rivers especially in Yamba and Byron. Check him out. New music, good vibes.

Here's a youtube video to check out:

Dan Hannaford - "Bootleg" packs a punch...

I was lucky enough to see Dan Hannaford play at the Bangalow Hotel last Friday night, and geez, what a show. If you haven't seen Dan yet, you need to. Armed with only his array of six strings, harmonica and kick drums, he produced an awesome bluesy, rock-a-billy, folk sound that had everyone groov'n.

Honest, gutsy and talented, Dan cranked out all originals that spoke of heartache, struggle, optimism and hope. Some of the stand out songs were from his new album, "Bootleg", check it out here at Dan's website: http://www.myspace.com/danhannafordband. "This I insist" in the video below is a cracker.

Keep your eye on Dan, here's on his way to big things I think. Success couldn't happen to a more humble and talented guy. Check out his gig guide at his website.

Welcome - Enjoy & Share New Music!

Welcome! This blog is aimed at those people that love nothing more than relaxing over a couple of drinks and discovering a new artist at a cool small venue! After moving out of Sydney to the North Coast of NSW, I have decided to finally make good on a couple of new eve's resolutions from a couple of years ago and create this blog. There is so much good new Australian music out there at the moment, I wanted to create a way that I could share with others some of the great new artists I've come across through friends and live shows, and ultimately develop a community to grow, share and support some of the new artists that are out there.

If you love live acoustic music, if you love a new story-teller who can weave a tale through a jamming blues rif or if you want to support a new venue that's having a go at supporting local music, feel free to contribute to this blog and share it with everyone.

Looking forward to hearing what's out there.

Cheers - Matt.