Fiddler’s Feast – Frenzee

Fiddler’s Feast grew out of the band Fiddler’s Festival. It’s still the same band, highly inventive and highly charged, and always up for a new musical challenge. The music zips from Celtic to classical, classic jazz to twisted and tangled pop, and back again. Above all, it is a music that possesses great fun, vitality and an Australian Perspective.

Fiddlers Feast is a deliciously extravagant smorgasbord of Australian music. Described as “a powerhouse of Australian Celtic music that flies down bush tracks, over blue mountains and zips down the city highways”; “Fiddlers Feast tears through a typically bizarre and eclectic mix of jazz, folk, gypsy, country and rock”; “Rollicking fun, with plenty of fiddles, and a tight rhythm section playing with precision and power”.

Fiddlers Feast is Australia’s premier Celtic music group, highly inventive, highly charged, and always up for a new musical challenge! Boldly splitting genres that no one has split before, Fiddler’s Feast play music that is difficult to box but above all, it is a music that possesses great fun, vitality and an Australian perspective. “Take a bunch of crazy fiddlers, add in some of the best musicians in the country, and you’ve got a recipe for – well, a musical feast.” (Susan Jarvis, Capital News)

Formed from an impromptu jam in 1996 by Marcus Holden, also well known for his role in establishing the National Fiddle Festival, the FF has performed and recorded with countless Oz music luminaries, including Diesel, Jimmy Barnes, the Bushwackers, Tim Finn, Graeme Connors, Jimmy Little, John Williamson and every major symphony orchestra in the country.

“Fiddlers Feast is the perfect festival band” (Blue Mountains Folk Festival) playing all the big Australian festivals including the National Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Woodford. In addition they host their own concert series at the annual Country Music Festival in Tamworth. They have toured Europe and Asia including France, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and most recently for the Oz High Commission in Pakistan.

“If you could have only one live band on your desert island, then choose Fiddler’s Feast. They are rollicking fun, with plenty of fiddles, and a tight rhythm section playing with precision and power.” (Limelight Magazine)

CD review by Ian Dearden

I put this album on, and my first thought was to duck the fiddles that came bouncing out of the speakers at me.

This is a wonderful, eclectic, joyous, tumbling, and bouncing album, drawing its inspiration from jazz, swing, traditional folk, crooning music, and just about anything else that wasn’t nailed down when they roared past!

There are fiddles to burn, but then there are also delicious vocal performances such as the duo performance from Clare O’Meara and George Washingmachine on “High High the Moon”.

And then there all the other supporting instruments, all superbly played and setting the scene wonderfully for all those ‘in your face’ fiddles!

It is impossible to categorise this music, except to say this.

The musicianship is absolutely stunning, including bucketloads of violins, multitracked, and played in duos, trios and more.

There is a delicious underlying sense of humour, both musically and vocally which underpins the whole album.

The musical styles range over but seem not to be limited to rock, jazz, swing, music hall and traditional folk (although not usually done like this).

There are original songs and tunes, as well as chestnuts such as “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, all given the very special Fiddler’s Feast treatment.

The arrangements are thoughtful and musically challenging, everyone involved was clearly having a (musical) ball, and the end result is something that deserves high rotation on the CD player, subject to this caution – beware turning this up in your car while driving.

It is very distracting and is sure to draw more concentration than most of us can spare from the task of keeping safe on the road.

There you have it – Fiddler’s Feast played loud leads to motor vehicle accidents!

I loved this album, and I have no doubt that anyone hearing it will be equally entranced and delighted by it.