biography

“The Northern Folk fall into a beautiful and untouched musical category that sets them apart from the rest… one of the country’s most dynamic groups to perform both live and in the studio.”– AAA Backstage

Hailing from Albury, NSW and based in Melbourne, The Northern Folk are a unique collective of eleven songsmiths and instrumentalists, wielding a brand of tightly woven alt-folk magnified by massive arrangements and colourful indie-pop sensibilities. With two charismatic vocalists, they defy the odds to avoid overcrowding- in sound, if not on stage- creating songs that deftly move from poetic lyricism to horn-saturated eruptions.

With three records across ten years, The Northern Folk have grown from their regional origins (seven members having attended the same high school) to become mainstays of the Australian folk scene. The band has worked with producers such as Callum Barter (British India, Courtney Barnett) and Adam Rhodes (The Cat Empire, Paul Kelly), culminating with their 2019 album ‘Watermark’, which reached #10 on the AIR Independent Albums Chart. Their live shows, with a “strength of performance second to none” (Beat Magazine), have led them to win St Kilda Festival’s New Music Stage Competition and play festivals such as Woodford Folk (back-to-back), The Hills Are Alive and many more; sell out Melbourne venues such as the Geddes Lane Ballroom and the Northcote Social Club; and support acts such as The East Pointers (CAN). Not content with constraining their talents there, five members also have solo projects, and two members founded and directed the By The Banks independent music festival in Albury for three years running.

Having spent COVID lockdowns writing a bigger and more focused array of songs than ever before, The Northern Folk are now preparing to release their fourth album in 2024- a record which will follow the narrative arc of a relationship from beginning to end, recorded at the band’s home studio. Contrasting the styles of their previous cuts- the driving indie rock of ‘Keep On Coming Over’ and the radiant slow-burn of ‘Jacarandas’- their third single ‘Thank God‘ is as close to a low-key ‘pop’ single as the band are likely to get, with anthemic choruses underwritten by weaving guitars. It’s a sigh of relief at the end of a relationship that you found yourself lost in, an ode to discovering self-trust and the clarity that comes with hindsight. ‘Thank God’ is out now.