Nick Payne
13/06/2011 2:01PM
Winter has definitely arrived in dear little Sydney and whilst most of us are keeping warm by a fire (or a big heater) we’re keeping warm by rehearsing (and a big heater) for our next Orphanage Session.
Joining us this time around will be our dear friend Karl Broadie. I first met Karl through a mutual friend several years ago. This friend of mine was having lunch with Karl and some friends and knowing that Lyn and I were starting to put together a band invited me along. At a pre-determined time she said, “Karl - Nick is in a band”, and the conversation began.
In that first conversation Karl offered me sage advice and encouragement and after that we bumped into him regularly. When we started The Orphanage Sessions in 2008 Karl was on the top of our list of guests to ask to play - he gladly accepted. In 2009 we asked Karl to produce our debut album. He guided us through process of recording it in his lounge room, providing invaluable technical and creative input. The results were spectacular.
Karl is an amazing, empathetic songwriter which is reflected by the fact we’ve always had a great turnout whenever he’s played at an Orphanage Session. In fact, I’d say that the sessions are one of the best places to see someone like Karl play.
Great gigs are a combination of the performance of the artist, the enthusiasm of an audience and the intimacy of the space that brings them together.
And that’s what we’re looking forward on Saturday July 9 for our next session. Prior to that we’re also joining Karl as his guest at his Showcase Collection at the Bald Rock Hotel in Rozelle.
Details for both gigs are as follows:
Dear Orphans @ Karl Broadie's Showcase Collection
6pm - 9pm Sunday June 26th
Bald Rock Hotel
15-17 Mansfield Street
Rozelle NSW 2039
FREE!
The Orphanage Sessions: Karl Broadie + Dear Orphans
8:30pm - 11pm Saturday July 9
Mars Hill Cafe
331 Church Street
Parramatta NSW 2150
Tickets on sale at www.OzTix.com.au, and OzTix Retail Outlets as well as at the door on the night.
Please share this post with others and RSVP via the Facebook event at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154147601321435
Warmly yours,
Nick and Lyn
Nick Payne
22/03/2011 11:44PM
In late 2007 Lyn and I conspired to run a series of shows called The Orphanage Sessions. The idea was to showcase great, original, country/roots music as well as giving ourselves a chance to get our instruments out.
As we considered how to make this work we realised a large key to its success would be the space that it happened in. For this reason we approached the coordinators of one of our favourite performance spaces in Sydney - Mars Hill Cafe. They enthusiastically agreed to the idea and happily fed us enough rope to hang ourselves.
Over the next two and a bit years we ran a total of 22 sessions and were blessed with the presence of artists such as The Wildes, Huckleberry Swedes, Karl Broadie, The Yearlings, Jessica Belle, Ange Takats, Sam Hawksley, The Harmonators, Caitlin Harnett, Lianna Rose, Benn Gunn, Jackie Dee and the list goes on. We had some incredible nights with full houses and energy bouncing from all the walls. We also had some heartbreaking nights where only a handful of the faithful showed. But always, the music was amazing.
Last year we lay low. Partly this was due to burn out - the effort required to organise and promote these gigs is enormous and draining! We were also managing the day to day of life including moving houses, changing jobs (more than once!). But we missed the atmosphere of these gigs as well as meeting and playing with other musicians and communing with believers.
So we’re really glad to announce the first of several Orphanage Sessions for 2011 on Saturday April 16 featuring Susanna Carman as our guest.
Susanna hails from New York and having emigrated to Australia in the 1990s now lives in the Byron Bay area. You can read more about her and listen to some of her music at:
www.susannacarman.com
We believe that playing music is ultimately a shared experience. As a musician it’s more fun to play with others than on your own and as a band it’s more fun to play for people than just jamming. For this reason we encourage everyone to consider joining us at this gig - that is, to allow us to engage with you and share this experience.
If most Saturday nights are spent in front of a large TV, if you haven’t been out to an event for years, then The Orphanage Sessions are the perfect re-introduction to the joys of music, company and life. We say this because we know the sorts of gigs we like to go to and so we’ve worked hard to create a gig that is “perfect” in our eyes.
Please share this post with others and RSVP via the Facebook event at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171901982859454
Full details of the gig are:
The Orphanage Sessions: Susanna Carman + Dear Orphans
8.30pm Saturday April 16
Mars Hill Cafe
331 Church Street Parramatta
Tickets on sale www.oztix.com.au and all OzTix outlets or at the door on the night.
Authentically yours,
Nick
P.S. Special thanks to the people who helped us out of fixes - Natasha David, Chrissie Pearce, Karen Anne Waters.
Nick Payne
3/02/2011 8:30PM
Hi folks,
Here's a quick update on what's happening for us.
Heritage Hotel, Bulli gig Friday February 11
On Friday February 11 we're playing our first ever gig down in the Illawarra. We'll be playing at the Heritage Hotel in Bulli supporting our good friend Jackie Dee.
Jackie's been making an impact in the country scene with her debut EP tide and she'll be appearing with her band. We're heading down with Mike Kirkley on Pedal Steel and Lindsay Mar on double bass. Opening the night will be Laurie Whitby.
The Heritage Hotel is a great roots venue and we're looking forward to playing there.
You can buy tickets online at the following location - http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=19507 - or at the door on the night.
More info about the venue can be found here - http://www.heritagehotel.com.au/.
Let us know you're coming and spread the word on Facebook here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183708711653881
Other upcoming stuff...
We're playing
- Karuah River of Music - May 13-15
- Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival - October 21-23
- National Bluegrass & Traditional Country Music Convention of Australia - November 17-20
- And there will be more
We're also working on some Orphanage Sessions and would love to hear about who you'd like to see come to Sydney to play with us. Drop us a line on the Contact Us page or post a message on Facebook.
And finally we'll be releasing some more recorded material this year. Maybe an album, definitely an EP. Stay tuned.