Viva Victoria!

February 02, 2016 by Abbie Cardwell

Gracias for kicking off my first tour of 2016 with a beautiful bang Victoria!

Honestly after over 20 years in the music game I admit I'm still making things up as I go....touring, gigging, juggling the many trades that come with this career path. (Publicist, manager, agent, booker, designer, printer, artist, driver and on ad-nauseum.)

Yes, I still love it. The often painful challenges are ultimately rewarded when I get to play shows like I just have in Victoria. The simple joy of sharing my music, being heard and experiencing a room filled with avid listeners and enthusiastic clapping hands of appreciation is what makes sense of all the other stuff that, quite honesly, can drive ya bonkers! The scales of 'bonkers-ness' are, for now, realigned. With this wind in my sails I can return up North for other shows and prepare to do it all again in Victoria in a few months.

Thanks to Bendigo City Council's Summer In The Parks Concert it inspired a whole summer regional Victoria tour. Even when I was based in Victoria for years I never actually did so many rural gigs like this ever before!

From the rollicking Gold Dust Lounge to a vintage wooden tram rolling through Bendigo to a gorgeous old Church then on to the good old Aussie pub of Ballarat's Eastern Station Hotel to the newly renovated gem of Castlemaine's Bridge Hotel.

The rural back-road drive was a refreshing joy as I am so often driving endless barren highways.

Feeling the groove at The Old Church On The Hill, Bendigo

Rocking with my Texicans, Australia Day at The Retreat Hotel, Melbourne

strummin at The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine

...then my bro Jeb appeared and treated us to a few songs!

Two fine humans and songwriter- muso's I recommend you check out: Freya Hollick and Joshua Seymor!

Thanks Victoria! I'll be back soon...

Abbie

Hello & Goodbye

January 13, 2016 by Abbie Cardwell

Goodbye 2015, hello 2016. A new year of clean potential spans before us but before we are mid way through the first month of January we in the western world are hit with the eclipsing news of Bowie's departure. The outpouring of emotion online and throughout the world is quite moving. Many people appear to be grief stricken as if their own father has died. I am ecstatic that such a courageous and freely expressive artist is being celebrated and mourned on such a grand scale.

I can't help but wonder if half of the shock of him passing is also partly to do with the fact we generally don't accept death as a part of our lives (In the western world mainly!).

Hate to break it to you but no one gets out of this alive.

May the magic that Mr. Bowie was and still is continue to inspire us to carry on being our true selves no matter where it takes us during our brief lives.

...and on that note I would like to add that I am hitting the road for a few shows in Victoria later this month and also have an exciting collaborative Valentines show in Brisbane called Honkytonkin Heartbreakers with Jen Mize & Nicole Brophy (video below).

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues,

Love Abbie

JANUARY GIGS

Jan 22 SUMMER IN THE PARKS - FULL BAND SHOW! BENDIGO BOTANIC GARDENS

Jan 22 GOLD DUST LOUNGE - FULL BAND SHOW! BENDIGO

Jan 23 THE BLUES TRAM - ABBIE DUO! BENDIGO

Jan 23 THE OLD CHURCH ON THE HILL ABBIE & JEB CARDWELL

Jan 26 AUSTRALIA DAY AT THE RETREAT HOTEL - ONE MELBOURNE BAND SHOW! MELBOURNE

FEBRUARY GIGS

Feb 14 HONKYTONKIN HEARTBREAKERS VALENTINES - SHOW FEATURING ABBIE, NICOLE BROPHY & JEN MIZE AT THE JUNK BAR ASHGROVE, BRISBANE - ONE SHOW ONLY!

On The Road...still!

November 21, 2015 by Abbie Cardwell

Rocking the Gold Dust Lounge at Bendigo Blues & Roots Festival with my bro Jeb

The Guiding Star tour has clip-clop trotted through Victoria via Byron Bay and back up to Queensland. As I take a moment to reflect on the journey thus far I am brimming with golden moments, new and old friends and heartwarming shows that call me back to do it all over again.

The tour highlights you ask?

Songwriting in the back of my van, sleeping beside a backdrop of waves, an audience singing a chorus without me, being a newborn baby’s first ever live concert experience, jamming on live Bay FM radio with Fingal the presenter, my first live internet broadcast gig on Pineapple Lounge TV, driving along tropical NSW winding open roads in mid-morning sunshine, meeting fans old and new, screeching to a halt and rummaging through op-shops en route to shows, rapturous dancing audiences at Bendigo Blues Festivals, autographing a little girls pair of slippers, singing harmonies with Kasey Chambers, (Kasey HANDS DOWN is the most generously supportive woman in Australian music I know!) rocking out with my brother Jeb, laughing my way through bad sound-systems and soaring through the finest speakers in the oldest theatre in Bendigo, hearing my songs come to life with new musicians in each town, crying with joy when i finished writing my new song Desert Flower parked by the ocean at Lennox Head, seeing my new screen printed singlets on other people (including Kasey!), drinking beer and co-writing a rude song with Van walker in his kitchen, performing to the most captivated audience at a private house concert…and realising all the hard work is totally worth it wether or not I financially break-even!

Here is a special moment captured in film from the first Guiding Star Tour show...

'Guiding Star' (Live) during the first gig of the tour at Tintenbar Hall Upfront Club with Fingal on electric guitar

The Finalé

The finalé to the Guiding Star tour is just around the corner for lucky folks in Brisbane! Sunday December 6th is the special eve I bring my brand new local musicians to the characterful and intimate stage of The Junk Bars ‘Skukum Lounge’ as we journey through my new Americana-Tijuana toons and end the tour in style.

PRES-SALE TIX AVAILABLE HERE:

THE GUIDINING STAR TOUR FINALE SUNDAY DECEMBER 6TH @ JUNKBAR 7PM 215 WATERWORKS RD, ASHGROVE, BRISBANE

(Limited Seats! Some tickets may be available on the door but only a pre-sale ticket will secure your seat)

THANK YOU for joining my musical journey!

Love Abbie

Costume winners Miranda & Leah at the Open Studio, Melbourne single launch.

Kasey sporting my new singlet on tour! #toocool

Sibling Revelry

October 23, 2015 by Abbie Cardwell

I am in the midst of my Guiding Star tour en route to Melbourne for rehearsals and awesome gigs with my new band! More great news unfolds as my big bro Jeb and I announce a new support for the loverly Kasey Chambers. Nov 14th at The Capital, Bendigo. (Jeb shall also be playing with her as well!)

Catch you at a gig on the road soon as I roll through Melbourne, Queensland and Lismore over the coming weeks.

P.S. The new singlets and bags I have been screen printing are HOT! Come to a gig to purchase or order online and I shall make-to-order and post to you direct.

Love Abbie

💋

A song-a-week-challenge?!?!?

October 08, 2015 by Abbie Cardwell

I read an article once about some guys 10 week journey in writing a song a week. It seemed tempting to try but damn confronting. The thought of that kind of pressure totally freaked me out but the idea was planted and almost a year later I finally decided to give it a red hot go. 2016 is looming and I want to look back at this year having written a swag of songs and maybe, just maybe, loving some of them enough to play live and record.

I am into week four now and am suprised and delighted with the results so far. The focus has changed from writing for a specific outcome to simply just finishing a song. This may not sound very profound to some of you but I am guessing it might be very interesting to fellow musicians and creatives. It is just so damn easy to get caught up in wondering if something is 'your sound' or if it's worthy of being recorded on an album or if it fits in with your current live set. Removing the boundaries is FREEING!!!

I have written 4 new songs in just as many weeks. For me this is HUGE. I usually take more time questioning things and ...doubting. This self-imposed song-a-week challenge is really showing me how being creative creates more creativity.

Martha Davis from The Motels once told me she writes a song a day. Perhaps I will leave that challenge till 2016!?

For now I am doing this challenge for a minimum of 10 weeks but it could very well extend. I look forward to sharing my new favourites with you soon!

Below is a new song (a rare 'political' kinda toon) dedicated to refugees and all that seek home and peace. If it helps open even just one persons mind about this dire issue...then I shall be truly happy!!! (I just filmed it outside so excuse the wind and loud birds that crashed the party!)

Guiding Star Tour

The Guiding Star tour kicked off with a magical bang in Byron Bay last week. Big ups to the amazing folks at Tintenbar Upfront Club for one of my fave gigs ever and to Fingal for accompanying me so well on guitar/accordian/mandolin on stage.

See you real soon Melbourne...

saturday 31st at Open Studio!

Songwriting inside my van parked at Lennox Head lookout 2 days ago.

Don't F**K With The Stars Y'all!

October 08, 2015 by Abbie Cardwell

Devout Astrology follower? who me? Nahhhh. I profess, however, that into day 1 of Mercury going ‘retrograde’ last month I was not prepared to gamble my hard work away. I had been warned that launching anything new during this time was a “bad idea” as all communication is challenged during this 2 week period. I gingerly tested the waters by softly launching my new song and video clip with a few close friends. 2 days of missed calls, bad phone reception, redirected and bounced emails later I was more than persuaded to hold off.

I’m happy to say that Mercury is almost done thwarting things...but my internet is down (suprise, suprise) and I will need to travel to the nearest cafe to steal some internet in order to get this to you. (Don’t be foolish like me and go up against the stars....especially when launching a single called Guiding Star!)

So rest easy amigos. Mercury goes back to normal after October 10 and I will then unveil my wonderful video clip that has been kept under tight wraps!

For now you can have a sneeky preview listen to Guiding Star via Sound-Cloud.

https://soundcloud.com/abbie-cardwell/guiding-star

Behind The Scenes of the Guiding Star Video Clip (Created by Astro Video filmed at Bestbrook Mountain Resort, QLD) )

https://vimeo.com/139163600

The Guiding Star Tour kicks off this coming Sunday October 11th at Tintenbar (between Byron Bay & Lismore). I will also have very special guest Fingal accompanying me on guitar and accordian.

For complete tour dates please visit my website or you can easily follow me via the great Bandsintown app. (Tour poster below)

More soon folks (I'll unveil the video next week)

Love Abbie