FULL LINE UP AND DATES
MARGO PRICE * TONY JOE WHITE * STEVE GUNN * WILLIE WATSON * COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS * REB FOUNTAIN * ARTHUR AHBEZ * THE EASTERN * HOLLY ARROWSMITH * EMILY FAIRLIGHT * TOM CUNLIFFE
The Great South Pacific Tuning Fork is proud to announce the return of the Southern Fork Americana Fest 2018, back for its fifth year in Auckland! Today, The Tuning Fork are thrilled to share the stellar line up for New Zealand’s biggest Americana fest! An unmatched bill of international and local artists ready to satisfy every country, blues and folk lovers’ dreams!
This year’s line-up features our favourite Americana/blues and folk artists from around the world including; rising Nashville star Margo Price, blues legend Tony Joe White, NY-based singer and guitarist Steve Gunn, folk traditionalist Willie Watson, country singer Courtney Marie Andrews, Tui-Award winner Reb Fountain, psychedelic-folk troubadour Arthur Ahbez, NZ’s favourite string band The Eastern, Christchurch treasure and fellow Tui-Award winner Holly Arrowsmith, introspective alt/folk songwriter Emily Fairlight and folk wordsmith Tom Cunliffe.
Courtney Marie Andrews is excited to return after performing two shows in 2017 supporting Sam Outlaw and Joe Pug, “New Zealand, I adore your beautiful country and I can’t wait to make my way back there for the third time!”
Last year, full festival passes sold out within days of going on sale – so don’t miss out on pre sales! Details below.
SOUTHERN FORK, AMERICANA FEST 2018
Friday, Oct 5 – Willie Watson + Holly Arrowsmith
Saturday, Oct 6 – Steve Gunn + Arthur Ahbez
Wednesday, Oct 10 – Tony Joe White
Friday, Oct 12 – Reb Fountain + Tom Cunliffe
Saturday, Oct 13 – The Eastern + Emily Fairlight
Wednesday, Oct 17 – Margo Price + Courtney Marie Andrews
Southern Fork presale: Thursday, August 16
Southbound presale: Friday, August 17
Ticketmaster presale: Monday, August 20
General Public: Tuesday, August 21
To once again offer enthusiasts the chance to see more acts and to encourage music fans to discover new artists, the festival will have a special ticket pricing scheme, enabling them to receive discounts on multiple ticket purchases.
MARGO PRICE
“one of the most compelling country talents to come out of Nashville” (Vulture). Margo Price‘s most recent release, All American Made was written alongside partner/husband Jeremy Ivey and unapologetically depicts the trials of ever day life, politics and sexism. It was hailed as “a potential classic,” by Pitchfork and Rolling Stone praised its “amazingly vivid songcraft“. Passing up on a more slicker, polished sound, Price has been lauded for her commitment to the grit and honesty in her music.
TONY JOE WHITE
Tony Joe White’s new blues-based album, Bad Mouthin‘, comes straight from the swamps with its blend of classics and five White originals, including two of the first songs he wrote just before penning his breakthrough hits ‘Polk Salad Annie‘ and ‘A Rainy Night In Georgia‘ in 1967. The Jody White produced album is a testament to the 75-year-old artist’s versatility and deep southern roots.
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS
Courtney Marie Andrews played her first NZ show in July 2017 following the success of her album Honest Life. The crowd described Courtney’s performance as “exquisite“, and “utterly brilliant“. Earlier this year, Courtney revealed May Your Kindness Remaina record dedicated to the people she met on the road. UK’s Guardian gave the album 5 stars, describing it as “a brilliant record, proof that old forms can still be timeless.”
STEVE GUNN
Steve Gunn is a New York-based guitarist and songwriter. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years, Steve has produced volumes of critically acclaimed solo, duo, and ensemble recordings. Close listening reveals the influence of blues, folk, ecstatic free jazz, and psych in his continually unfolding output. In 2016 Steve released, Eyes On The Lines, his first album for Matador Records which the Washington Post called, “so intimate and so mysteriously distant all at once“.
WILLIE WATSON
For nearly 2 decades Willie Watson has been making modern folk music rooted in older traditions. Folksinger Vol. 2, produced by David Rawlings, carries on a rich tradition in folk music: the sharing and swapping of old songs. With his rich vocal range, Watson breathes new life into classic songs like ‘Samson and Delilah‘ featuring harmonies of gospel quartet the Fairfield Four. Arriving three years after Folksinger Vol. 1 – his first release since parting ways with the Old Crow Medicine Show – Vol. 2 carries on the spirit of a time nearly forgotten.
REB FOUNTAIN
After touring and recording with Finn Andrews (The Veils) Reb Fountainreleased Hopeful & Hopeless; “the most perfect EP ever made,” (Simon Wilson, Metro). The album recently won a Tui award for Best Country Album 2018 and title track won APRA Best Country Song 2018. Fountain brings with her the same stellar line-up as performed at the Nick Cave 60th birthday celebration gig last October. They will perform new material from a forthcoming album as well as old favourites.
ARTHUR AHBEZ
Volume II is the long awaited second album from acid folk troubadour Arthur Ahbez, and follow up to 2013’s critically acclaimed Gold. Best described as a soul lost in the spirit of song, Arthur finds solace in the ethos of Jazz, Folk, and Psychedelic movements of the 1960’s.
EMILY FAIRLIGHT
Wellington based indie-folk songstress, Emily Fairlight has been composing and performing for over a decade, carting around her introspective alt/folk through New Zealand, Australia and the USA. She recorded her sophomore album, Mother Of Gloom, with Doug Walseth in Austin, Texas. Radio New Zealand praised the songs for distilling “moments of emotional turmoil into palpable images anyone can feel.”
HOLLY ARROWSMITH
Holly Arrowsmith’s sophomore album, A Dawn I Remember, is gaining critical acclaim, alongside an APRA Silver Scroll Top 20 nod for closing album track, ‘Slow Train Creek‘. Sunday Star Times gave the album a five star review while Otago Daily Times compared her vocal performance to an “early Joan Baez or the superstar voices of Joni Mitchell and Emmy Lou Harris.” Arrowsmith’s music often touches upon earnest matters of life, wrapped up in metaphors of nature and the soothing mountain environment that raised her.
THE EASTERN
The Eastern, have been roaring around the music scene for ten years and with four albums and well over 1000 shows under their belt, they have no plans on stopping soon! Best known for their 2012 record, Hope and Wire a bold double album that reached Gold Status, climbed to #2 in the NZ Charts and debuted at #1 on the NZ iTunes chart. Radio NZ and NZ Herald hailed them as “National Treasures.” and NZ Country legend Barry Saunderssimply called them “The truth.”
TOM CUNLIFFE
Auckland-based folk artist, Tom Cunliffe, recently released his second album, Template For Love, following his debut Howl and Whisper. In his late teens Tom’s love of typography drew him to Wellington, where he studied design. It was here that he first started playing guitar and writing songs. Howl and Whisper was recorded in Lyttelton with producer Ben Edwards and was praised for its diverse songwriting and compared to The Waterboys and Bob Dylan.
ABOUT THE GREAT SOUTH PACIFIC TUNING FORK
The Great South Pacific Tuning Fork has quickly established a reputation as one of the best spots in Auckland to see a variety of eclectic artists, with its intimate and comfortable surrounds and top-notch sound system having made it an audience favourite.
In particular, alt. country and Americana acts have found a welcoming home at the venue, which has in the last few years hosted a virtual who’s who of top local and international artists including Jason Isbell, Ryan Bingham, Justin Townes Earle, Marc Ribot, Steve Earle, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Shakey Graves, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Tift Merritt, Marlon Williams, Tami Neilson and a whole lot more.
