It only ever dawns on me how much we are still doing as a musical duo (and trio- when Helen Rowe joins us) when I lodge my APRA live returns. (APRA is the organisation that pays song-writers royalties when their original songs are played).
Highlights of 2018 included the Goodwills trio being booked at both the Maleny and Neurum Creek festivals. Both of these small festivals are staying true to the ethos of a folk festival as a community gathering of like-minded people. The latter has a cap on tickets and camping numbers, so if you are serious about going, get in early for the September 2019 festival.
In November, the trio performed at Brisbane’s longest running unplugged venue, Red Hill Folk. If you have never discovered this truly unique jewel in Brisbane’s entertainment scene, it’s at Red Hill Bowls Club every Wednesday night at 7.30. Entry is $2 and there is supper. Some nights it is an open floor event (anyone can get up and sing or recite) and occasionally there are guest acts.
We performed as a duo at the Australia all Over outdoor broadcast in Toowoomba in September. As a bonus, we got to watch the street parade and marvel at how Toowoomba has grown since we lived there in the 1980s.
Once again, we held unplugged house concerts at our home in Maleny with guests including Evan Mathieson, Cloudstreet, Tin Star and Sadie and Jay. In October Bob held a private function at the Maleny RSL to celebrate his 70th. Bob and guests performed to about 85 people and a jolly time was had by all. We called it our ‘out of house concert’. Bob sent emails to just about everyone he knows, so sorry if you missed it for whatever reason, because it is unlikely to be repeated!
Bob started writing songs again in 2018 and has a few in the works for debut in early 2019. We are working with Pix Vane-Mason to put some of these tunes down for perpetuity, so watch this space.
Bob wrote a song about refugees on Nauru, Manus Island et al and made a short video documentary to go with it. If you have not already seen this, it is worth a revisit. (
We’ll be back in the New Year with our house concert series- first one is in February. We’ll let you know the date and guest artists in plenty of time to book.
Finally, thanks to those who supported The Goodwills (and Bob’s blog, Friday on My Mind) through our website shop.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Bob, Laurel and Helen
