Steel City Sue In Concert

Brilliant original songs served up with heart, humour, and a lively wagon load of stringed instruments.

Steel City Sue is a Newcastle-born fiddle-player and songwriter. She sings pointed yet achingly beautiful stories with big themes like the decline of local industry and seeing her valley ravaged; and funny ironic songs - flirting with a coal miner at the pub, or the trials of her rusty WB panel van. 

Twin-fiddles and ripping ragtime tunes are a feature of the Steel City Sue show.

With band mates Naomi Jones (Midnight Chicken) and Tim Merrikin (Hunter Valley Ramblers) the trio of multi-instrumentalists come rigged between them with banjo, uke, accordion, piano, guitar, bass and loads of fiddles! The songs are also lifted up with the gorgeous harmonies of Naomi and Sue.

Steel City Sue wrote award winning song ‘Boom Town’, which was dubbed ‘the new Newcastle anthem’. It struck a chord with locals, and anyone who knows the sting of their town being ripped-off with nothing left to show for it.

Steel City Sue has a loyal following. Her Newcastle Folk Club concert late 2024 was a standing-room only affair.

She has appeared at Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival, Dashville Skyline, Illawarra Folk Festival, Tamworth Country Music, Gulgong Folk Festival, Newcastle Fringe, Bulga Beats Hunter Valley, Nundle Rocks, Majors Creek and Cobargo.

Catch her before she heads off to the mountains again…

“My idea of a good time is taking my fiddle to West Virginia and hanging out playing tunes for days and days at an ‘old time’ festival deep in the hills.”

Reviews

“a 'breath of fresh air' in the current musical climate… delivered with grace and humour in a uniquely Australian way.” Kevin Bennett, The Flood

“Boom Town is a fine debut, full of terrific melodies, and delivers its pointed messages both tastefully and with eloquent subtlety.” Trevor Leeden, Rhythms

“The album’s musical overlay is full of classy fiddle and banjo licks, rising to the fore on breaks, and falling back in line as the original lyrics – and Sue’s voice – come calling for your attention.”    “some of the strongest protest songs ever written about the Hunter Valley and the coal industry.” Jim Kellar, The Newcastle Herald

“Many Australian country music artists are interested in telling audiences about authentic experiences, and part of the beauty of the genre is how many different ways there are to do that, from Slim Dusty and Joy McKean to Troy Cassar-Daley, Beccy Cole, Lachlan Bryan, Sara Storer and Catherine Britt. Steel City Sue fits into the pantheon of very fine singer-songwriters in this country while offering something new and different: her stories told her way.”  Sophie Hamley, Jolene-  The Country Music Blog  

“a 'breath of fresh air' in the current musical climate. It has a lilt, and subtle magic while dealing with some deep and heartfelt social messages. The title track 'Boom Town', is one of the best songs I've heard about the removal of an area's (Newcastle) resources (i.e: coal), with little or no recompense… The album is full of great songs about life, the environment and the human condition, all delivered with grace and humour in a uniquely Australian way.”   Kevin Bennett, The Flood