BROADS + DAN PARSONS
7.30PM: DOORS
8.00PM: DAN PARSONS
9.00PM: BROADS
Broads is the musical partnership of Kelly Day (The Nymphs, regular guest with Wagons) and Jane Hendry (The Tiger & Me, The Nymphs). With years of singing together in vocal vintage pop group The Nymphs (as seen on Spicks & Specks, RocKwiz), Kel and Jane have developed a harmonic symbiosis that is evident in their luscious harmonies and their strong connection both on and off the stage.
The duo’s self-titled debut EP, recorded and mixed by Ade Vincent (The Tiger & Me) is a collection of sweetly nostalgic duets that captures Broads’ penchant for the smooth, the mournful, the dark and the twisted. With an old Hollywood feel, Broads give a loving homage to their influences while delivering a modern interpretation of the golden era of croon.
Straight off the back of performances at two of Australia’s premier folkies, Woodford Folk Festival and Cygnet Folk Festival, Broads are on the verge of releasing their debut album, recorded at the end of 2015 and featuring a swathe of Melbourne talent.
Broads are kicking off their home-town shows for 2016 with one of their favourite events, the Melbourne Folk Club, with heartthrob Dan Parsons.
“The entire EP is a magnificent display of songwriting and the Day/Hendry connection is electric in their ability to filter raw emotion through graceful and elegant simplicity. You’ll be hard-pressed to hear anything more beautiful in the near future.”
Chip McCabe, Lonesome Review: Broads
Produced by John Castle, 2010′s ‘Firestarter’ was to take Dan Parsons across the world, showcasing at LA’s Musexpo, Brighton UK’s Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City Festival.
In 2010/11 he set out on the epic and at times trying, 50 First Dates tour, eschewing the hipster haunts and seeking out the lesser known halls of Australia’s more mysterious towns.
Come 2012, It was an old reel to reel he would eventually return to when deciding how to approach his second album. Sourcing a bare bones assortment of equipment to compliment it, he set about teaching himself to record.
600 headphone-hours later, he emerged triumphant with an album which couldn’t possibly bare anything less than the mark of an artist who knows who they are and without irony- at peace with self-doubt.
The songs, on which Parsons played the majority of instruments, revolve around his voice and guitar- From the canyon canter of “Shoalhaven Night”, the psych-pop of “Lay it all Down”, the back-porch jamming of “Oh Baby, When You Say it Like That” to the numb ostinato of “Close Your Eyes, Let it End”, written for a childhood friend who took his life while Dan was on tour.
After many airports, bars, theatres and a 25 date tour with AUS/USA Bluegrass band ‘One Up, Two Down’, 2015 sees Parsons release the first taste of his third LP, a tale of forbidden love and hidden heartbreak. The song, entitled ‘I’ll Live and I’ll Die’, sonically strikes a confident balance between the acoustic intimacy of his 2013 self-titled release and the assured pop sensibilty of 2010′s ‘Firestarter’. The new album finds Parsons again working with Producer/Engineer, Robin Waters.
With just a voice and guitar, Dan Parsons sings intimate songs of failed love, great love, missing home, the intricacies and anxieties of the human experience.
