THE WISE FAMILY BAND

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REPERTOIRE

Their wide repertoire includes fiddle tunes from Australian, Irish, Scottish, Scandanavian, Basque, French Canadian, Cajun and other regional US and world traditions, and original tunes contributed by everyone in the band.

On the songs front, the family’s solid 5-part harmony singing always elicits a great response--either in unaccompanied song or in songs with well-arranged instrumental backup. Due to Louisa’s American origins and Scott’s involvement in the inimitable acoustic blues band The Ten Cent Shooters, the band performs Blues (their “domestic blues” songs always delight an audience), pre-Blues African-American folk songs, Scottish and Appalachian traditional songs, works of contemporary songwriters and original songs reflecting their region of Australia.

The family comes from Margaret River in WA’s deep South West, where the forest and ocean make a great atmosphere for music and instrument-making. All of their playing, rehearsing and recording happens at the kitchen table in their big green house beside the forest.

RECORDINGS

Their first album “Sweet Child” was recorded in 2001 and was received very well. In January 2004 they released their second recording, “The Magic Fiddle” to great acclaim. It received a favorable review in the October 2005 issue of the British folk music magazine fRoots, and in Australia’s Trad and Now Magazine.

Their latest recording, “Hold Up The Sky”, was released in 2006 to further acclaim and has enjoyed airplay on Radio National in Australia.

The family’s solid

INSTRUMENTATION

In the band the three girls sing solos and harmonies, and play fiddles, ukuleles, dulcimer, electric bass, blues harmonica, bodhran, spoons, triangle and shakers. Scott and Louisa add voices, guitars, dobro, mandolin, cittern, a second dulcimer, and song/tune-writing skills.

HANDMADE INSTRUMENTS

 As an added interest, all of the stringed instruments played in the band --fiddles, guitars, ukuleles, dulcimers, mandolin, cittern, bass---were made by Scott, a busy and respected professional luthier in Australia who has pioneered the use of Western Australian hardwoods in the craft of stringed instrument-making, or luthery.

FESTIVALS

In Western Australia the Wise Family Band has appeared at Fairbridge Folk Festival, Blues at Bridgetown Festival, Araluen, Nannup, Mandurah, Fremantle, Esperence Wind-, Albany’s Harbour Sound- and Margaret River Olive Festivals. Further afield, they have appeared at The National Folk Festival in Canberra; Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland; Brunswick Music Festival in Melbourne; and in country Victoria Port Fairy, Chewton, Burke & Wills, and The Boite Singers’ Festivals; and as tutors and camp musicians at Turramurra Bush Music Camp. In other states, they have performed at Sydney’s Hawkesbury National Fiddle Festival, Tasmania’s Tamar Valley Folk Festival, South Australia’s Adelaide Festival Fringe (in the Speigeltent), and the Northern Territory’s Top Half Festival.