Susanna Freymark
If you’ve never seen the Haystack Mountain Hermits play, you’re in for a treat.
This family band is a delight to watch on stage and they’re bringing their folksy, bluegrass sound to the coast.
The band is playing at Club Evans on Easter Sunday at 2pm and it’s a free show.
Mother in the band Kerrie Gambley comes from Old Bonalbo – hence the name Haystack Mountain, the mountain she could see from the family home.
Most of the band now lives in southeast Queensland but coming home to the Northern Rivers is always a treat.
Kerrie said the family has had many holidays in Evans but they’ve never performed there before.
“Neale (Genge) from the club invited us and we managed to fit it in amongst all the goings on lately,” Kerrie said.
“It’s tricky managing a family band with all the various members involved in so many other projects.”
The band is working on its debut original album and several of the new songs will be played at Club Evans on Sunday, April 20.
“We’ve just returned from a successful tour of the Sunshine Coast and hinterland and have a good few shows ahead before Marcus (son and band member) leaves for Nashville,” Kerrie said.
“He’s been awarded a scholarship to attend Bryan Sutton’s Blue Ridge Guitar Camp for the second year running. We’re all just thrilled for him.”
The family started busking in 2011 as they travelled around Australia for seven months. Back then, some of the band members were just kids who learnt to play instruments in the back of the van as they travelled.
They’ve played major festivals including Woodford, Tamworth, Groundwater, Gympie Muster, Illawarra, and National Folk Festival and they were honoured with the Festival Find title at Illawarra in January.
Thrill yourself and go see the Haystack Mountain Hermits on Easter Sunday at 2pm at Club Evans. They play. They sing. They fight. And they just might charm your socks off. Find out more at their website here.
