Bespoke Folk Bonanza: Shark & Fox, Mia Petra, Broken Creek

Propelled by accordion pumping through the subs, twanging gourd banjo licks on a fretless children’s Stratocaster, vintage synths controlled by a violin, and an Argentinian bombo fashioned into a drum kit, “Shark & Fox” hide their toughest questions inside a pile of murder ballads, moving sideways through the traditional building blocks of music, in search of the shortcut to your heart.

Described as “the illegitimate love child between The Dirty Projectors and Ivo Papazov’s Bulgarian wedding band” Shark & Fox formed in early 2024 for their first Australian tour, bringing a new collection of songs to the stage, and discovering their own sound alongside the audience at shows across the country. 

Shark & Fox consists of Canada’s Jaron Freeman-Fox on violin, 12-string viola d’amor and fretless guitar, Australia's Emily-Rose Sharkova on accordion and keyboards, and Rose Callaghan on the drums, with all three members lending their voices in a collective roar, or intricate harmony.

https://sharkandfox.com/

Blending the lines between contemporary folk, electro-acoustic, soul and jazz, Mia Petra is a song maker and producer based in Muloobinba/Newcastle whose unwavering genre-fluidity conjures a playful space that is both nuanced and moving.

Mia Petra is celebrating the release of the new single ‘Big//Heavy/Big’ from her debut album ‘SKIING THE GUT’ set to release early 2025. A ‘refreshingly uncompromised’ sound, donning harmonically dense vocal arrangements and playfully complex percussion- completed with a subsequent dose of goofy, hearty banter. 

https://www.miapetramusic.com/

Broken Creek weave compelling musical reimaginings of Australiana for banjo, guitar, fiddle and voice that tell stories from Australia’s past and present.

Erin and Lachlan Heycox grew up in rural Victoria steeped in bushbands and balladeers. Named for the creek Erin grew up near, ‘Broken Creek’ signals a love of country and traditional folk music with an adventurous musical bent to “break” with the conventional. 

Broken Creek’s album ‘Yeah Nah’ features songs about small-town Australia, tunes inspired by the land and subversive interpretations of traditional Australian songs. Broken Creek’s debut album ‘Small Town Anthropologies’ was a finalist for FAA Traditional Album of Year.