Geoffrey has had an extraordinary musical career. In this podcast, he thinks back over his teenage determination to be a soul/pop singer, how he achieved that dream, and how his life has taken shape in the years since he had 5 songs in the charts and wrote for Michael Jackson and Dusty Springfield. A great performer, we can't wait to see him at CresFest in 25!

Joe has had an amazing career, from Indigenous reggae rock group No Fixed Address in the 80s, through to the Black Arm Band in the 2000s, and periods of leading his own band before and since then. His father and mother were forcibly removed from Palm Island in 1957, before he was born, after a strike in which indigenous workers campaigned to be paid for their work. His take on indigenous matters is always worth hearing, as is his best known song Yil Lull, an Indigenous anthem, and recent songs just recorded for a new vinyl.

Mark is the guitarist and one of 6 singers in The Cherrypickers, a contemporary bluegrass band from Adelaide, recently one of the headliners at CresFest 24. We started talking during the festival, then caught up again a couple of weeks later, covering topics as varied as his experience at CresFest, singing harmony, the band's music and history together over the last 20 years, and then about his new life regenerating a rural property in Tasmania. You'll have no chance to get bored!

Part 2 takes us to King Charles receiving Reuben's marmalade, the story of Martindale Hall, and the Marmalashes.

Why volunteer at a local music festival? A conversation about why a person did gets side-tracked by the world of competitive marmalade making, and the conversation heads off in unexpected directions.

Gina and her partner Guy Ghouse will be headlining at CresFest 2024. Here, Gina talks with Neil about songwriting in Noongar, her recently premiered opera Wundig Wer Wilura, and her take on the No vote...amongst other things!

Lucy Wise, one of Australia's great songwriters and performers, talks openly with Neil about her journey balancing good mental health and a career in the performing arts, her new album Into The Blue and the influence of her mum, musician and songwriter Louisa Wise!

For 15 years, Melisande and her partner Alex have been taking traditional Quebecois music and turning it into something quite different and incredible. They talk about their mission to support the music of their area and their part in a more general community approach to keeping French Canadian language and life flourishing. It's a fascinating conversation! Come and see them get the place moving with their band at CresFest 24.

Tickets at cresfest.com.au