Anne Toner started playing the piano at a very young age, first listening to her older sister learning, then copying her. An accomplished pianist and vocalist, she began song writing in 2002 when she moved to Tasmania. ‘Something opened up for me, something about the place and the space, the creative juices really began to…

Slim Pickens is the musical alter ego of Chris Ellis, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has played in Celtic, Bluegrass, folk and country bands, in duos and trios and at several Victorian and Tasmanian folk festivals. Chris bought his first guitar at the age of 15. Mostly self-taught, he had some early musical training…

David Brannigan As a 19-year-old in 1965, David Brannigan discovered Frank Traynor’s Jazz and Folk Club in Melbourne. It changed his life. Frank, a jazz trombonist, had formed his group The Jazz Preachers in 1956, then opened his club in the early 1960s. ‘He was an important figure in the Australian folk revival,’ David says.…

When I visited musicians and historians Steve and Marjorie Gadd’s house in Franklin, I found instruments and sheet music scattered in nearly every room. ‘This looks promising’, I think. ‘Tell me about the Huon Valley’s musical history.’ Steve explains that in the early years in the Huon, there wasn’t much entertainment, so the dances were…

The Huon Art Exhibitions Group (HAEG) was formed to facilitate a series of artwork exhibitions and competitions that are held regularly each year. The aim is to cultivate artistic and cultural life in southern Tasmania’s rural areas and to foster young and emerging artists. HAEG events give local artists of all abilities a venue to…

Perched on the outskirts of Geeveston in Tasmania’s far south is an unassuming roadside shed. An ice cream factory in a previous life, this unpretentious structure is no longer the domain of chilled treats. It’s been reincarnated as quite the opposite – hiding inside its steel walls lie the molten magic of glassblower Craig Snell.…