Homegrown roots favourites Kingfisha are turning what was already a huge 2015 into an absolutely massive 2015 with the announcement of their new single, ‘Water Running’, and a national tour to celebrate the release.
The news comes on the back of the band’s freshly inked deal with Melbourne booking outlet 123 Agency and their additions to the lineups for BIGSOUND and the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME).
‘Water Running’ has been a live favourite amongst fans of the group for a little while now and highlights the band’s signature deep rhythms and the feather-light vocals of Anthony Forrest, a combo that has seen them garner fans around the country.
We recently caught up with one of Australia’s favourite roots/reggae outfits and spoke to Shannon Green to assess the health of Australia’s reggae scene, which he assured us is not only alive and well, but bustling with talent.
Entering The Scene
I think we all had different paths to the source. In hindsight, I realise as a kid I was attracted to bands like the The Police and Madness not really knowing the influence of Jamaican music. Then of course you hear Bob Marley, and then I heard dub and that sealed the deal, I knew it was a music I really wanted to make myself.
First Contact
There was a long running residency at The Zoo called Dub Sessions with DJ NOMC that we all used attend and there we met other musicians who were playing in bands that were playing reggae. There were also the Rythm Collision gigs and the legendary 4ZZZ Dubday Afternoon fundraisers.
Getting Unearthed
Winning Triple J Unearthed Roots meant we got to play at a music conference in Adelaide, and from there we got a gig at Blues Fest, so all these things add up. You just gotta keep plodding along doing your thing and slowly the snowball builds
Support
There are some great roots-focused festivals that we really enjoy playing at, namely Island Vibe Festival on Minjerribah (which is on this November, get your tickets) and 4ZZZ always deserves a big shout out for supporting and playing local music!
Shout Outs
We are looking forward to playing with a bunch of awesome bands on our Water Running single launch tour this September/October: Kooii and The Francis Wolves in Brisbane, Bearfoot on the Sunshine Coast, ManaLion in Sydney and Echo Drama and The Cactus Channel in Mebourne.
Kingfisha National Tour Dates
Thurs 10 September
BIGSOUND, Brisbane
http://www.bigsound.org.au
Sat 26 September
The Triffid, Brisbane
http://tickets.thetriffid.com.au/?eventId=55821
Fri 9 October
The Brighton Up Bar, Sydney
http://www.brightonupbar.com.au/whats-on/events/9-oct-15-kingfisha-brighton-up-bar/
Sat 10 October
Evelyn, Melbourne
http://evelynhotel.com.au
Fri 23 October
The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Sat 24 October
The Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=55859
Sat 31 October
Island Vibe Festival, Nth Stradbroke Island
www.islandvibe.com.au
Friday 13 – Monday 16 November
Australasian World Music Expo, Melbourne
http://www.awme.com.au
Friday 27 – Sunday 29 November
Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff
http://www.qmf.net.au
