With an edge that harks back to old time jazz and blues singers, Ebony Lamb of Eb & Sparrow has led her band of talented men on a musical journey that began in 2010. They've traversed a pathway that has led them onto stages with an astonishing string of folk-heroes: Rodriguez, Beth Orton, Pokey LaFarge, Wagons, The Warratahs, Tami Neilson and Marlon Williams to name a few, and will now appear at the Southern Fork Americana Fest on a double-bill with West Aucklands favourite Americana rockers, The Miltones.
Eb & Sparrow have carved out a niche, creating a soundscape that is at once spacious and lush, nuanced alt-country music that swings out into folk-noir, soul, and rockabilly. Ebony's voice slides along the edges of Cat Power and Gillian Welch, and with a captivating presence, she delivers lyrics that dust off the truth to life's hopes and heartbreaks.
Starting out as a teenage duo, front woman Milly Tabak and lead guitarist Liam Pratt toured the country as The Miltones, gaining friends in far away places and sharing their earlier material such as the memorable 'Gypsy Queen' and the more recent single 'Black Dahlia', which served as the duos debut single in 2014.
Led by front-woman Milly's powerful and soulful vocals, The Miltones have toured with the likes of The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band and recently released a self-titled album to rave reviews, receiving 5 stars from the NZ Herald.
Celebrating the festival launch alongside The Miltones and Eb & Sparrow will be goth-tinged alt-country four-piece Dead Little Penny. Fronted by Hayley Smith and Rodney Fisher (Goodshirt), their sound ranges from dreamy melancholic country to upbeat tongue-in-cheek rockabilly skiffle.
Led by front-woman Milly's powerful and soulful vocals, The Miltones have toured with the likes of The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band and recently released a self-titled album to rave reviews, receiving 5 stars from the NZ Herald.
Now in its fourth year The Great South Pacific Tuning Fork, 95bFM and Under The Radar with support from Jim Beam, are proud to announce the lineup for the Southern Fork Americana Fest 2017 as it returns full steam this October.
2017's lineup brings together a stellar cast of local and international names in alt-country. This year includes lauded Nashville-born songwriter Justin Townes Earle with support from Canadian-based quartet The Sadies. With 20 albums under their belt, USA cult favourites Son Volt will hit The Tuning Fork for the first time as will Grammy nominee (Best Folk album & Best American roots song) Robbie Fulks. Jonny Fritz, Robert Ellis and Cory Chisel return with their super group side project Traveller with support from Nashville's rising star Joshua Hedley.
This year's lineup also includes a heady dose of New Zealand's finest, with beloved folk-noir act Eb & Sparrowlaunching the festival in style on a double bill with country-folk darlings The Miltones. Followed the next night by local legends The Eastern with The Bads. The Shape I'm In: Hootenanny & BBQ will also make a welcomed return after its successful debut last year.
2017 also sees festival passes available for the first time since the festival's debut in 2014. Passes will be in limited supply, so snap one up quickly before they sell out.
TICKET PRICING
To once again offer enthusiasts the chance to see more acts and to encourage music fans to discover new artists, the festival will have a special ticket pricing scheme, enabling them to receive discounts on multiple ticket purchases. Each show is colour coded. Buy a ticket to a red show and you can buy tickets to white shows at 25% off and blue shows at 50% off. White show ticket buyers can get blue show tickets at 25% off. These offers are only available for advance purchases.
Also, any purchase of a ticket to shows on the following dates (7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th October) will be able to buy a $10 ticket to ‘The Shape I’m In’ Hootenanny and BBQ on Saturday the 14th of October. This offer will be available when purchasing other tickets.
