Illawarra Folk Club presents Scott Cook in Concert

SCOTT COOK sings sturdy, straight-talking songs that see the good in you. Born in West Virginia and raised on the Canadian prairies, in 2007 he quit his job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan to move into a minivan and embark on the life of a full-time troubadour. Since then he's toured almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, averaging over 150 shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, all the while distilling his experiences into empathetic, keenly observant verse. His seventh and latest recording Tangle of Souls was recorded in Australia and comes packaged in a cloth-bound, 240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations. The album spent two weeks at #1 on Alberta's province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single "Say Can You See" was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International's folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest. Scott has already completed nine tours of Australia, including talked-about performances at Woodford, Port Fairy, Cobargo, Candelo, Cygnet, Healesville, Mullumbimby, Newstead, Kangaroo Valley, Dorrigo, Maldon, Illawarra, the National, and Yackandandah folk festivals. He’s been back on the road full-time since January of 2022, living in a campervan named Roadetta with his sweetheart Pamela Mae on upright bass and vocals, and this year he’s bringing her for her first visit to Australia.

"Scott Cook’s seventh 'love letter' to the world is all strings and beauty, a 12-song agnostic endorsement of love over fear... It doesn’t condemn, it summons to one fire... Of all his records this one simply feels the best. ✭✭✭✭✭" –The Edmonton Journal

"Damn, this is a gorgeous album. Scott Cook’s voice –– vocally and lyrically –– is as clear-eyed, optimistic, and straightforward as ever... Tangle of Souls is the medicine we could all use right now." –Adobe and Teardrops

"He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own... He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines... Truly one of Woody Guthrie's children." –RnR Magazine

Support act :  AZ-I-AM, where musical genres collide and fuse.
They first appeared in 2008 and have performed at festivals, folk clubs and have been support act for international performers.
The band has recently changed from trio to quartet and welcomes Wolfgang Kloger, (multi-instrumentalist) who adds a new dimension to an already eclectic mix of Chris Wilson’s original works and adapted covers.
Johnny Spillane brings a strong Celtic influence with his magic whistles, while Ray Marshall adds a touch of country sunshine on the Dobro.
If variety is the spice of life, then this band delivers.