Hi there lovely crew,
Thanks for dropping by. We have a bit of news, our new album is on the way. We first started tracking songs over 20 months ago, and have dipped in and out of the studio since, exploring new sounds and approaches to songwriting. We hope to release the new album with you all in early 2023.
After quite the hiatus on the live performance front, we are starting to book album release shows for 2023 and can’t wait to be out there on stages around Australia again.
Big love,
Sal
Hi there lovely crew,
I write this on a rainy Sunday morning, from my Mum’s yoga studio in Wangaratta, Victoria. My 11 week old bambino Stanley is asleep on the gorgeous quilt that his Nan poured hours of love into, as I slowly work through unread emails, and put merch packages together ready to send out into the world (I won’t deny there is a bit of a backlog, apologies if you have been waiting – I have been somewhat distracted by the gorgeous new little man in my life) I am on maternity leave from my Youth Development role with Indigo Shire and finding a beautifully simple and slow daily rhythm with my newborn. We walk the river most mornings and afternoons, peruse the op-shops for winter woollens and 80’s tupperware and revisit episodes of Outlander in between mastering the art of washing and drying reusable nappies, which I must say is unexpectedly quite fun.
All our albums are now on Spotify….
Last year we gently parted ways with our long time distributor Vitamin records, Glenn and Nino and the team at Vitamin have been such a truly brilliant support for over a decade! but as you all know the music industry is an ever evolving beast and selling albums has been trumped by the plethora of free(ish) online music platforms. Up until recently I have been reluctant to have all my albums on platforms such as Spotify, as I feel concerned that royalties shared to the writer and musician are yet to reach an equitable standard. In most recent times I have also grown to appreciate the positive opportunities that these platforms can create, just yesterday while looking at the Spotify stats for Southern Light I noticed that we have a bit of a following in far off lands like France and Spain, even if quite humble numbers- perhaps there is an excuse for a Euro tour in 2027 😉 As I share this post promoting the release of all our albums onto Spotify, I also encourage you to continue buying hard copy and online albums from your favourite independent artists. You can purchase all our releases on hard copy or digital via our bandcamp site – just jump onto our merch tab.
Hope you are all travelling gently during this time, I know it is not an easy chapter for many, especially for those in the music industry. Here’s hoping we will all be dancing and soaking up brilliant live music at a festival sometime soon. I am really looking forward to hitting the road with my little family and sharing some of my songs again… Till then we will keep spinning Donny Hathaway, Greg Lyon and Jo Jo Smith CDs on repeat in our house, seems to be Stans fav so far
Big Love,
Sal
Hey there,
Thanks for dropping by. Sal here, hope you are travelling along gently. I will be playing a number of live shows this summer, both with the full band and in duo mode with my talented friend Tully Sumner. We will be playing a few festivals such as Cygnet Folk Fest in Tassie, Beechworth Music Festival, Farm Day Out in Eganstown, Port Fairy Folk Festival and a few headline shows including one in Melbourne Town at the Spotted Mallard. Jump on our Shows tab to find see all shows, and ticket links.
Big love,
Sal x
Twas with big gratitude to have a little break from shows for a while there, to focus on all things family, day job and writing. It’s with a certain excitement that I share our next chapter of shows, including this ripper- a one day mini music festival that my friend Neri and I have been hosting for the past couple of years. What started off as a fun weekend gathering of past Mittagundi leaders has turned into one my fav weekends of the year. Helping raise funds to allow Alexandra teenagers to experience the magic of Mittagundi, Alexandra Farm Stay Mini Fest is on Saturday 22nd September at ALEXANDRA FARM STAY, a few kms from Alexandra Victoria. Featuring Sal Dastey (Tiddas), The Northern Folk, Tully Sumner, Sal Kimber & The Rollin Wheel, This Way North, Stony Six and more. Live music from 10am-10pm on the Saturday. Camping, food truck, a big kids area and activities, and bar. Tix $50 for Adults, $20 for Teenagers, $10 for kids, $110 for family. Shuttle bus available from Alexandra. This year we are also inviting everyone to our Friday 21st Sep night gathering – with an open mic, camping, bbq and bar from 7pm. Ticket link: www.trybooking.com/WYAJ
Hey there sweet country NSW, we are bringing the FULL band to you soon, 5-7th MAY.
5th & 6th May – Lost Hwy Festival – KARUAH
6th May – Wauchope Hall, WAUCHOPE
7th May – Boo Radley’s Hall, GLENREAGH
Tix to Lost Hwy Fest – http://losthighwaybluegrass.com.au/
Tix to Wauchope – https://www.trybooking.com/267849
Tix to Glenreagh – https://www.trybooking.com/272644
xx
What a gorgeous summer we are having here down under. Jump on over to our shows page to see a list of VIC shows for Feb and Mar. May NSW shows announced soon. Big love to you all
HEY THERE SWEET REGIONAL VIC and NSW. We are coming to you this spring and summer.See you on the dance floor 🙂
Oct 15th – Patchewollock Music Festival
Oct 21st – Euroa Agricultural Show
Oct 22nd – Alexandra Farm Stay mini Fest
Oct 28-30th – Maldon Folk Festival
Nov 4th – Lurg Hall (near Benalla)
Nov 18th-20th – Mullumbimby Music Festival
Dec 2nd-4th – Folk Rhythm and Life Festival
Ah winter, I know not everyone is a fan, but there is something particularly cosy and enjoyable about her reign, early morning jogs in the mist and toasty fires at night. Last night I played at an amazing community gathering in Albury, a winter solstice event with a focus on supporting those affected by suicide. On the coldest and shortest day of the year, the rain did not cease in it’s presence, but the people still gathered, with deep compassion and vulnerability and strength of the human spirit, a sea of multi-coloured umbrellas stoody by fire barrels.
After a busy and fruitful time of touring and releasing our new album “Southern Light” The Wheels and I are taking a little breather over Winter before we hit the road again in spring. October will see us taking to the country roads, with a sweet run of regional Victorian shows- including Red Hill, Warnambool, Alexandra, Castlemaine and more. Keep your eye on this space over the coming months as we announce festivals and our spring/summer tour dates. In the meantime I have a number of solo/duo shows coming up, head on over to the shows tab for more details.
