Ben Salter

Acclaimed Australian songwriter and performer Ben Salter is returning to Aotearoa this September to promote his third solo album "Back Yourself". He performs at the famous Mussel Inn on Wednesday September 27, and will be joined for this show by the wonderful Flora Knight and Sean Donald.

Ben Salter is one of Australia’s most highly regarded performers and songwriters. As well as being a founding member of Giants of Science, The Gin Club and the three-time ARIA-nominated Wilson Pickers, he is an accomplished artist in his own right. His debut solo album The Cat (2011) and follow up The Stars My Destination (2015) established his penchant for eclectic, esoteric arrangements and sounds that take in elements of folk, rock, pop, jazz, country and beyond, whilst maintaining a coherence and inimitable melodic style.

Salter has collaborated, written and performed with artists as diverse as Mick Thomas (Weddings, Parties, Anything), Tim Rogers (You Am I, The Temperance Union), Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Gareth Liddiard (The Drones) and Marlon Williams, to name a few. He has toured with acts including Cat Power, J Mascis, Gareth Liddiard, Counting Crows, Marlon Williams and most recently Built To Spill.

Since the release of The Cat, Salter has toured relentlessly both across Australia, throughout Europe, and most recently to Japan and New Zealand. His third album, Back Yourself, is due for release through ABC Music in September 2017.

Flora Knight and Sean Donald are a duo who despite their disparate upbringings, coalesce to produce harmonious electricity. As the electrons collide, one can discern soft yet exciting songs and tunes, anything from the sad to the humorous. Fiddle player and singer Flora Knight (The Eastern, The Lonesome Pine Specials) was raised in New Zealand, while singer and guitar picker Sean Donald (The All Day Breakfast Stringband, Pigeonhawk SB) was raised in Canada, and now resides just a stones throw away from Knight in Dunedin.

The music that Flora and Sean play is reminiscent of a bygone era that resists the wear of time. Whether it's a rip roaring ragtime fiddle tune, a mournful country classic, or a sweet and silly waltz they will have you on your toes both figuratively and literally. Their fiddle melodies are largely steeped in the traditions of American folk music from the Appalachian mountains and through the Ozarks, and their voices blend beautifully to capture the tight country duet harmonies of the great turn of the century brother duets such as The Louvin Brothers and The Delmore Brothers.

Contact ben@bensalter.com.au or bensalterbookings@gmail.com for all booking and press enquiries.