Old-Time Tales with Porch Couch (CAN) and CJ Stranger

Alan Mackie and Jaron Freeman-Fox are Porch Couch, reanimating old-time and square dance tunes from Appalachia and beyond on fiddle and banjo, deftly balancing a deep respect for tradition against all the times they've shirked it: throat singing with Norwegians in a Siberian yurt camp, modern dancers leaping across tables at the PWYC bar gig, or playing for Swedish ravers under the midnight sun while the drummer bangs pool cues on the floor. Wry, colourful, and psychedelic, Porch Couch is an original sound in traditional music that moves listeners and dancers alike.

Watch them at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1AsH3Wigp0 Find them at https://www.porchcouch.org/ and https://www.instagram.com/porchcouccccc/

Opening the evening is local legend CJ Stranger.

CJ Stranger combines old school Australian storytelling with indie-folk grit and a constantly adventurous guitar style. He’ll draw you in with humorous comments on the absurdities of life before telling you a folk tale so lyrically vivid you feel like you’re in it.

His 2023 album Coming Up For Air and his 2020 album Hey Stranger both received critical acclaim and widespread airplay across the country including triple j and Double J. Listeners have often spotted influences such as Paul Kelly, Kurt Vile and Bob Dylan in CJ’s songs combined with a guitar sound landing somewhere between Ry Cooder and J. Mascis. CJ (the alter ego of Cameron Henderson) lives on Darug Country, Blue Mountains, Australia.

Find CJ Stranger at https://www.cjstranger.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/cjstrangermusic/

About The Little Lost Bookshop...

Sometimes when you're packing for a trip, you feel quite sure you have forgotten something but can’t quite remember what it is. The Little Lost Bookshop is a bit like that. It’s like a place you knew you were looking for, but couldn’t quite remember. And a place to go when you haven’t quite found what you’re looking for. A place full of old thoughts, strange ideas and beautiful books. It is The Little Lost Bookshop.

Doors at 7pm. Music at 7:30pm