And so 2017 begins ... with a road trip south, a house concert and folk festival .... and that was just January! 
What better way to start a new year than load up the guitars and camping gear and head to the Illawarra Folk Festival in lovely Bulli NSW. On the way I visited my mate Scott Thomson and his wife Jenny (from The Thomsons) who hosted a beautiful concert at their lakeside property in Morisset.
I've done a few of these before, but always with bands playing other musicians' songs. So this was a first time as a soloist performing my own material and a couple of my favourite covers. I was a little nervous at first, but it was soon easy to relax and connect with such a friendly audience and Scott kindly backed me on bass. It was a real treat performing to a room full of people sitting quietly and listening to the music, a very uplifting experience. Must do more house concerts this year!
Next stop was Illawarra Folk Festival, again a first time experience. It was a fantastic festival and I'm sure I lost a few kilos running from stage to stage each day with a serious case of FOMB (fear of missing bands). It was a fun few days, catching up with all the Brisbane musicians there and discovering new favourites. My campsite even survived occasional cyclonic winds - BONUS.
Back home in Brisbane now and my gig guide is slowly filling up. Lots of spots at my regular venues, and a few exciting shows coming up at the funky Retro Bar in Kenmore and some other nice surprises in the works too. Once again I've made a promise to myself to focus more energy on my own songwriting and other creative pursuits this year, although I'll still be playing my bass for various bands from time to time. I'm easily distracted.
Hope to see you at a gig sometime soon.
x Jodi