Last Tuesday Club Night

The Burning Bridges are an old-school family string band with a constantly evolving repertoire that reaches back to the bedrock of American country music, including old time Appalachian fiddle tunes, alt-country, bluegrass, and an expanding catalogue of classic-sounding original songs and tunes written by all three members of the family. The Burning Bridges appear regularly at national folk and bluegrass festivals and at venues of distinction across Victoria and beyond, and have released three albums to date, the most recent, Whipporwill, in 2023.

Members include Peter Somerville (banjo/ guitar/ vocals), Fran Martin (guitar/ vocals), and award-winning young fiddle maestro Tom Somerville (fiddle/ guitar). Wunderkind Justin Vilchez joins the band on mandolin and guitar, and Andrew Le Blanc features on bull fiddle.

The Quarry Hillbillies, hailing from Bendigo, bring together seasoned musicians Chris Jacobs and Pete Fidler for a dynamic blend of bluegrass toe-tappers, country ballads, and sweet harmonies.

Chris Jacobs fell in love with bluegrass two decades ago and is celebrated as one of Australia’s finest bluegrass vocalists. Known for his soaring “high-lonesome” voice and solid rhythm guitar, he has fronted bands like Canberra’s Department of Bluegrass and Melbourne’s Hardrive. Chris plays a custom Gallacher guitar, crafted by Joe Gallacher in Albury, New South Wales.

Pete Fidler, who started guitar at age five, found his niche with lap-style resonator guitar (dobro) after years in various genres. A veteran of the 1980s St Kilda music revival and corporate bands, Pete now thrives in bluegrass, country, and Americana scenes. He’s a sought-after session musician and teacher, bringing his passion and expertise to The Quarry Hillbillies.

Rain Of Animals is the euphonious collaboration between Pepita Emmerichs (Oh Pep!) and Theodore Barnard (Wire & Wool) and their love of all things mandolin, fiddle, guitar, harmony vocals, bluegrass, oldtime, swing, tunes, and songs.
Their sound is both new and old, unique in its instrumental wizardry and musical integrity all at once.