“His songs are gritty and real and come at you like a hammer, ringin’ in the mornin’. Take it or leave it, he’s telling it straight up” – Shane Howard

Melbourne singer/songwriter Bill Jackson has had a big couple of years. He has released seven solo albums, toured the US four times, had his song ‘Something in Blue’ covered by the late great Nashville legend David Olney and shared Folk Alliance Australia Album of the Year with Gurrumul in 2008 with ‘Steel & Bone’.

January 2020 – June 2021 was a time of great reflection for musicians/songwriters in Australia and beyond. However, a chance meeting between an ARIA Hall of Fame inductee and Bill Jackson ended up in the production of two new albums during the grim months of Melbourne’s lock downs during 2020. Kerryn Tolhurst had always been on Bill Jackson’s radar, not only because of his place in Australian music history with Country Radio and The Dingoes; but also because of his stellar work in producing independent local acts like Jeff Lang, Cyndi Boste and The Pigram Brothers. All through 2020 and countless file transfers/emails/phone calls later ‘The Wayside Ballads Vol 3’ had been completed. ‘The Wayside Ballads Vol 3’ is folk music as Jackson sees it in the minstrel tradition of spreading the news both past and present – full of heroes and villains and love and hate. A natural ending to the trilogy he envisioned with his brother and co-writer Ross back in 2014. Vol 1 (2015) was recorded in Australia and Vol 2 (2016) in the US. It opens with the track ‘Convict Blood’ – asking questions and expands on who we really are as a country and whether our history still defines us.

‘Where did you get that depth of hate when you landed on these shores / Using sugar, guns and alcohol to help you win the wars…’

‘The Wayside Ballads Vol 3’ was awarded ‘Contemporary Album of the Year’ at The Australian Folk Music Awards in 2021. Self-managed and fiercely independent, he has consistently produced music over the past fifteen years which has gained the respect of his songwriting peers as well as audiences both in Australia and overseas. The completion of ‘The Wayside Ballads’ Trilogy is landmark testament to Bill Jackson’s eligibility and standing in Folk Music in Australia.

Cabaret Seating, BYO Nibbles, Bar Open from 7:30pm

Tickets:

• Adult – $25 online, $30 at the door
• Concession: $20 online, $25 at the door
• Under 18s: Free