Michael Waugh

I like to think that The Barn at Wombat Flat is getting a reputation for sometimes putting on the BEST artists, story tellers and musicians that you’ve never heard of. You folks are starting to trust us with that responsibility and you just buy tickets and we are grateful for that. It may be that come October 2021 you may not yet have heard of Michael Waugh…..but I doubt it! I’m still haunted by his song Binder Twine heard more than two years ago now as it came randomly, unexpectedly through my headphones. Who writes like that? Michael Waugh does and his new album The Weir is proof that he does it consistently. He’s destined for “Big Things”! Don’t miss this show!

Michael Waugh’s insightful tributes to friends, family and parenthood are simultaneously deeply personal and nationally recognisable; we see our own brothers, parents, pubs, rivers, struggles and joys reflected in the faces of those characters who live large in Michael’s songs.

Michael is a songwriter’s songwriter, a compelling live performer and an extraordinary storyteller. Among his admirers are the legendary Eric Bogle, alt. country luminary Shane Nicholson and country hitmakers The Wolfe Bros. His latest album The Weir received two Golden Guitar nominations in 2020 – Male Artist of the Year and Alt Country Album of the Year – as well as a nomination at the 2020 Victorian Music Awards.

“Like John Schuman, Shane Howard & Don Walker – Waugh writes with passion and probity about his own country.” 4 1/2 stars The Australian

“Michael takes all these elements of the human condition and lyrically moulds them into something that is very special indeed, the mark of a compassionate and insightful human being and a gifted songwriter.” Eric Bogle

“another masterclass from Michael Waugh…..it finds him perched on a songwriting mountain not many of us could hope to climb.” Shane Nicholson

“When Michael Waugh opens his mouth, you should listen”. Andrew McMillen – The Australian

Michael’s ability – his gift – is to take tiny, corner-of-the-eye, ordinary moments and sing them into something significant – powerful and memorable and moving. In the cracked earth of The Weir, Michael Waugh has unearthed rare treasures indeed.” Colin Buchanan

Camille Trail

During his set at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January Shane Nicholson – singer, songwriter, producer and a champion of emerging artists – invited a guest to the stage. Her name was Camille Trail, a young singer songwriter from Central Queensland, who’s debut album Shane had just produced.

One of the interesting things about Camille, Shane told the audience as his guest took to the stage, was that she’s the only person he’d ever worked with who paid for the recording of an album by selling a couple of bulls.

As much as that is true – Trail was born, raised and still lives and works on her family’s cattle farm west of Rockhampton – anyone in the audience expecting a singing cowgirl was in for a surprise.

Instead Camille, accompanied by Shane and his band, delivered a haunting and masterful rendition of the moody title track of Nicholson’s ARIA award winning album Hell Breaks Loose.

Camille nailed it, the audience loved it, and the scales were tipped into a recording agreement with Compass Bros Records – a stellar start to 2020 for the 21 year old singer songwriter from the cattle farm in Central Queensland.

Camille Trail was introduced to the joy of music at an early age. “Most mornings I’d wake up to music – Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson and other great singer songwriters. Dad and I would dance in the kitchen while Mum cooked breakfast. I think that’s why I love music so much – plus I loved listening to my mum play piano accordion – it was my entire childhood really”.

She learned piano from the age of eight and was soon writing her own songs. After high school she committed to her musical ambitions and studied song writing at the JMC Academy in Brisbane.

While attending JMC Camille would study by day and play as many gigs as possible at night – honing her craft, testing her songs on audiences and finding a community of peers.

It’s also when she wrote the songs on her forthcoming album. “I was writing in the early hours of the morning or late at night. I found that was when inspiration hit me the most. I was inspired by heartbreak of course, love, and also what I was reading at the time and even just looking out the window and people watching.”

Camille sent a demo to Shane Nicholson asking if he’d be interested in producing her album. Nicholson responded enthusiastically and the album was recorded in three weeks in 2019.

Camille Graduated from JMC with a Bachelor of Music, specialising in songwriting, in April 2019. In July that year her debut single and video Humming Chain was released independently. It reached #6 on the iTunes singer songwriter chart and introduced the world to an extraordinary new talent.

Camille’s new single ‘Little History’ is a light-hearted antidote to troubling times – a song about having a few drinks with your friends and forgetting, for a moment, about everything else. “My dad was always at me to write a drinking song,” says Trail, “so I sat down with a beer to reminisce about party nights with my friends over the years. This was pre COVID 19 but now I feel like the song is a timely reminder to turn off the news, try to relax and have a little fun.”

The release of Little History, produced by triple ARIA winner Shane Nicholson, provides a glimpse into Camille’s stylistic range: both previous singles – Humming Chain and Devil’s Drink – have been sultry, swampy blues influenced country with dark lyrical themes while Little History is a good time country shuffle with a ‘let’s have a drink and forget about it all’ message. Both previous singles made a serious impact at radio with Devil’s Drink peaking at #19 and holding for 14 weeks on The Music Network Country Airplay Chart and peaking at #16 on CMC.

The video for ‘Little History’ was directed by Duncan Toombs from The Filmery. “We wanted it to be laidback and fun and portray what it looks like when I let loose with my friends” says Camille. “I’m naturally kind of goofy so this time around, after the darkness of Humming Chain & Devil’s Drink, I wanted to show another side of me. It’s kind of a snapshot of our own little personal history against a backdrop of the worry and uncertainty of the times.”

Charlotte and Georga

This year we offered an Emerging Artist Scholarship to eight of 25 applicants. In addition to music business mentorship with artist Kelly Brouhaha, sound tips from engineer John Simpson and venue tips from owner Mike Roberts, scholarship winners get to perform a couple of songs at the start of a show. We are really looking forward to hearing Charlotte and Georga kick off this magic night at The Barn at Wombat Flat!

Georga and Charlotte have been entertaining locals in the Clare Valley for over three years and they’re both only 17 years old! They’ve recently ventured into original music influenced by artists such as The Gorillaz, Prince, Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey. They blend these influences into their own unique sound.

Ricca Terra Wines, Barossa Street Food, Eudunda Bakery goods, beer, soft drinks, hot drinks for you to purchase on the night.

NO BYO FOOD OR DRINK PLEASE.

Gates open 5:30pm / Show 7:00pm