Michael Waugh’s new album ‘The Weir’ reaches up from the dried, cracked heart of Gippsland’s irrigation reservoir - Lake Glenmaggie - asking what it means to grow up Australian. It is family ‘carguments’ on long holiday drives to see the big things of Australia, mozzie-bitten itches of first summer loves, Meldrum-fuelled familiarity of Aussie rock classics, and the lived-in love of dinner with your partner in front of Neighbours. But it is also about what lies underneath – our underbelly laid bare by the drought; the distances that drive us apart, the economic devastation of rural communities, the death-wish of boys in country towns, the spectres of colonisation, racism and homophobia.
‘The Weir’ is Michael Waugh’s third album. It follows ‘The Asphalt & The Oval’ (winner 2018 The Age Music Victoria Awards ‘Best Folk and Roots Album’) and 2016’s ‘What We Might Be’ (Golden Guitar Award nomination 2017) and is Michael’s third studio project with multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winning producer Shane Nicholson.
Michael Waugh gives a profound new voice to the Australian experience. His insightful storytelling cuts to the heart of everyday life. It is honest, emotionally brave and compelling in its beauty. His insightful tributes to friends, family and parenthood are simultaneously deeply personal and nationally recognisable; audiences see their own brothers, parents, pubs, rivers, struggles and joys reflected in the faces of those characters who live large in Michael's songs.
You can catch Michael Waugh at one of his upcoming shows:
Saturday 14th September – The Palais (w/ Shane Nicholson) – Hepburn Springs, VIC
Saturday 21st September – Sandy Point Music Club (with Gretta Ziller) – Sandy Point, VIC
Friday 4th October – Oodies Café (w/ Scott Cook) – Bundaberg, QLD
Saturday 12th – Saturday 19th October – Cruisin Country 2019
Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd November – Maldon Folk Festival – Maldon, VIC
Saturday 16th November – Humph Hall (w/ Gretta Ziller) - Allambie Heights, NSW
Sunday 17th November – Illawarra Folk Club show (w/Gretta Ziller) – Kiama, NSW
Saturday 23rd November – Burke and Wills Winery – Heathcote, VIC
Saturday 30th November – By the Banks Festival – Albury, VIC
Wednesday 11th December – The Lomond Hotel - East Brunswick, VIC
The Weir - out now on Compass Bros Records through Universal Music Australia – buy here
Very nice.
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