Mr Fibby, The Ellis Collective, and Owen Campbell in Victoria Park

Overview

With summer now getting into full swing, is it not the perfect time of year to enjoy some of Australia's best underground gypsy-folk-rock-storytelling artists in the lazy, setting sun of a Sunday afternoon under the shady trees of Victoria Park? There'll be sausage sandwiches and cold soft drinks for sale too. Each of these acts have been tearing it up in their own way all through 2009, so a bit about each:

Mr Fibby are a truly unique mix of theatre, music, and storytelling. In a howling dervish of despair, they wander through faux fairy tales most lamentable, past monstrous trees, men once dead, jealous lovers, lost gypsies, shattered hearts and moons as red as blood. The genre of what it is they does doesn't even have a name yet. Based out of Canberra, they've been absolutely smashing the festival circuit in 2009 and creating for themselves a strong band of dedicated followers. Catch them now in their finest light – the outdoors definitely suit them best.

If ‘Bloke Folk’ were a genre, The Ellis Collective would be all over it. Simple and gritty tales of an Aussie male hiding a broken heart behind big talk, a tinnie and a smoke. The past twelve months have seen them play at Australia’s largest and smallest festivals. They have been compared to seminal influences including John Schumann, Paul Kelly, and Tim Rogers.

Owen Campbell, an Aussie born to Irish mother and Scottish father, was introduced to a diverse range of music at a very young age. Playing guitar since age ten, his style has developed over fifteen years into a gravelly blend of blues, roots, soul and country, with a voice that belies both his young years and his virtuosity on the slide guitar.