Last year, The Paper Kites treated fans to At the Roadhouse, their highly anticipated sixth album.
The ARIA-nominated folk-rock band took to the small regional Victorian town of Campbells Creek (around 140km north-east of Melbourne) to record At the Roadhouse in 2022, and the property became home to some special shows.
Inspired by “all the great dive bars we’d been to around the world,” the band turned an empty heritage building into an American-style roadhouse, which quickly hosted free, unannounced shows on weekend evenings for one month, the shows relying solely on local word of mouth. The decision paid off handsomely, with ‘The Roadhouse’ filled to capacity every night.
The property owner had a vintage all-analogue studio set up in a barn behind the venue, which is where The Paper Kites tracked their new album live.
Luckily for fans of the band, local cinematographer Keiren Watson-Bonnice was on hand to film their resident performances, and the feature-length film is finally available for everyone to watch.
At the Roadhouse – the film – premiered on The Paper Kites’ YouTube channel today, and it beautifully captures both the band’s Campbells Creek shows and the surrounding landscape of regional Victoria.
At the Roadhouse – the album this time – received positive reviews from critics upon its release last year.
“At the Roadhouse showcases a consistent and refined range in their musicality over a decade after their first release,” praised CLASH. “If you’re looking for a record perfect for autumn, then look no further than At the Roadhouse – a truly stellar legacy left by The Paper Kites.”
At the Roadhouse followed 2021’s Roses and 2018’s On the Corner Where You Live, the latter of which earned The Paper Kites a nomination for Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 2019 ARIA Awards.
The Paper Kites’ At the Roadhouse (film) is out now.
