With the coming of Love Police’s Americana Festival ‘Out On The Weekend’ which hits Williamstown, Ballarat and Korumburra this October, Sydney is being graced by a number of sideshows featuring some of the best contemporary alt-country and americana acts.

Hurray For The Riff Raff – October 5

With Annie Rose Maloney – Factory Theatre, Marrickville

It’s a big hooray for HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF, returning to the land of Oz on the back of their latest and possibly greatest album The Past Is Still Alive. 

Led by Alynda Segarra, the HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF founder of Puerto Rican heritage was born in the Bronx and baptized in the anti-war movement, radicalized and then galvanized in New York’s punk haunts and queer spaces.

From 17, the songwriting began and Segarra split from their home city, shuttling off to California where they began crisscrossing the country by hopping trains in pure singer-songwriter troubadour tradition.

Hear the story, experience the good stuff and celebrate the musical journey of this outstanding band and its leader. You’re in for a ride!

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

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Rose City Band – October 6

With Andrew Tuttle – Factory Floor, Marrickville

Get set to lose your mind in the psychedelic cosmic cowboy sounds of first-time visitors ROSE CITY BAND, led by Portland, Oregon musical leader Ripley Johnson (see also Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo). 

Rose City Band’s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. The band has extended beyond the studio and lives in tandem as a live ensemble featuring some of the finest players in contemporary rock.

Their latest album Garden Party is a celebration of summer and all it brings: communal gatherings, the respites offered by nature, and an appreciation for even the simplest beauty, from 12-foot sunflowers to a contorted carrot planted in the spring.

Freedom, contentment, and joy were the sources for the songs. From the soaring guitar solos to the driving rhythms, the elegant pedal steel lines to the organ grooves, Garden Party and the band’s entire catalogue, has a live band’s energy captured in exquisite detail.

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

Nick Shoulders & Margo Cilker – October 9

Factory Floor, Marrickville

What’s not to love about the dazzling punk cowboy that is NICK SHOULDERS? All the way from Arkansas, our pal Nick is ready to bring his infectious and reckless tunes to Australia. 

Fresh on the circuit after the release of his latest LP All Bad, Shoulders inimitable form of country music is in the spotlight: a heady balance of gritty eccentricity, punk defiance and ultimate musicianship, all with a nod to the artist’s generational connection to the roots of country.

Feel your face lift when you hear those jangling Cajun rhythms and surf rock blues that we love from our friend. Oh, and he yodels!

Joining Shoulders on this cruise is the magnificent MARGO CILKER, who leaves the Columbia River near Washington for our shores for the very first time.

Cilker’s magical songs about moonlight, forests and cowboys captivate the dreamer and following on from her new album Valley of Heart’s Delight, audiences will be lapping up this live performance like one would a whiskey on a winter’s night.

Two dreamers coming together under the Southern Cross for a double-bill of rivers and trails, snakes and waterfalls.

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

Uncle Lucius – October 10

With Tall Shaun – Factory Floor, Marrickville

Did you ever watch that great TV series Yellowstone? What was excellent about this show was this one mind-bending aural odyssey called Keep The Wolves Away.

This song, now legendary, encouraged the long-running Austin, Texas country rockers UNCLE LUCIUS to reform and get back on the road. 

We’ve since dived a little deeper into their catalogue and our minds have been expanded. After a five-year hiatus, the band regrouped and recorded Like It’s The Last One Left – an expansion of Uncle Lucius’ amped up Americana and greasy roots-rock with stings, adventurous production and razor-sharp songwriting. 

It’s the band’s first time here in Australia, and they’re gonna put on a good show as they bring their great tunes, new songs and that massive hit to the live stages Down Under. 

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

Jonny Fritz & Joshua Hedley – October 17

With Freya Josephine Hollick – Factory Floor, Marrickville

Our pals JONNY FRITZ from Montana and Nashville regular JOSHUA HEDLEY are back, running into our open arms with their joyful blends of country and western, fiddle playing and good ol’ fashioned Honky Tonk. 

JONNY FRITZ is a veteran of 15 years as a touring musician, with his sound a near perfect blend of country and western. Jonny calls it Dad Country: a theme park tailor-made for dads. A skilled leatherworker, who’s made guitar straps for all your favourite bands and a top singer, songwriter and player. He does it all and brings his special style to the stage. It somehow all makes sense once you learn how to make sense of it all.

His touring buddy, our favourite fiddle player JOSHUA HEDLEY is a stalwart of the Lower Broad district of Nashville AND of Out On The Weekend festivals of yore. With two albums under his belt, the Nashville fave will be sharing his honky-tonk anthems with Oz in no time. 

These two have reputations down here, and sometimes matching suits. Settle in for a night of very good times this October.

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

What: Out On The Weekend Americana Festival Sideshows

Who: Various Artists Touring By Love Police

When: October 2024

To Find Out More & Book Online Click Here