My band SKINK is performing at Smith’s Alternative on Sunday, 30th March 2025! We’ll be on at 8PM.

SKINK is a trio made up of myself on keys, Mansell on bass, and Naomi Smith on drums. The three of us play together in many bands, and SKINK is our personal project born out of our love for groove and improvisation.

It’s an experimental trio that continues to evolve - We come onto stage with basic motifs, and evolve them naturally and organically through the night. The version of the song you hear will never be heard again. $10 entry!

Tickets available here: https://www.smithsalternative.com/events/band-beng-bing-bong-bung-90680

Make sure to select 'SKINK’ in the ticket options - all ticket sales will directly go to supporting the band.

I’m back with Dana Hassall and band at Enlighten 2025!

Dana’s music is a cup of tea for the soul - With a shot of whiskey!

Join us for some catchy Americana-Country music and some seriously well written songs!

This is a FREE event.
https://enlightencanberra.com/program/dana-hassall/

The Dalmatians are back and ready to rock out the Enlighten crowd once more!

This band mixes the folky tones of Jonny’s Electric Bouzouki and Wil’s acoustic guitars with the tight rock sounds of Naomi’s hard hitting drums, Mansell’s driven basslines and Hayden’s screaming organ tones.

It’ll be sure to get you dancing and swaying. Come along!

Another Cobargo Folk Festival favourite, Fred Smith, a songwriter, diplomat, philosopher, poet and raconteur, has been described as an Australian national treasure. Whip-smart lyrics, wry humour, some lovely melodies, a big brain and a bigger heart, his songs reverberate with the prophetic voice of humanity. Fred and band will be playing songs from his rich back catalogue and his new album ‘Look’.

I’ll be joining Fred Smith on stage twice at Cobargo Folk Festival 2025!

First at 11AM, and then again at 2PM
Check the festival program at the event for details about which stages!

Kopasetic is a live music powerhouse, delivering raw earthy rhythms from a melting pot of rock-reggae, roots and folk music. The six-piece thoroughly explores the limits of these genres, with original music spanning bone-shaking off-beat grooves to soulful ballads.

Kopasetic’s sharply refined live set has seen them booked to support the likes of Jeff Lang, Kim Churchill, This Way North and Glastonbury veterans True Vibenation & Gusto Gusto; as well as for sets at Australian festivals such as Dragon Dreaming Festival and the Sydney Folk Festival. The band is beloved in their hometown of Ngunnawal/Canberra – consistently drawing in large crowds to their original releases and headline shows.

This is a FREE event and does not require tickets.
https://enlightencanberra.com/program/kopasetic/

Local legends The Dalmatians - taking rock music back to its folk future! Wil, Jonny, Naomi, Mansel and Hayden deliver funky grooves delivered through rock, blues and even ska riffs.

This gig is FREE! Dinner available from 6PM to 8PM. Bar open all night!

Googong's FREE live music festival, Googfest 2025, returns headlining with Australia's pop diva, Samantha Jade!

Last call is a fast-paced train-ride of sensual soul and blues. We’ll be serenading the first-comers at Googfest 2025 between 5PM and 6PM, in support of Australian ARIA Award Winner Samantha Jade.

There will be a variety of food vendors there on the night, or bring a picnic and enjoy the show - this is a FREE event and everyone is welcome!

On Valentine's Day, Fred Smith will be getting together with his all-star band to present 'Domesticity'.

Fresh from 5 star reviews on debut at the Adelaide Fringe, ‘Domesticity’ is a beautiful, heartwarming song cycle that will touch you where you live: at home!

It is built around what has been described as “a stunning cycle of deeply personal songs about marriage, babies, love, tolerance, decency and the complexity of modern life…sublime study in tenderness and vulnerability”. (BRUCE ELDER - SMH).

Backed by some of Australia’s most sensitive musicians, Fred Smith brings his trademark subtlety, wit and observation to bear on the quiet struggles in our little lives: the houses we live in, the children we raise, and the marriages we might hope to sustain.

TICKETS: https://www.smithsalternative.com/events/fred-smith-89368
UPDATE: SOLD OUT!

Join us for the ArtSound Garden Concert at the Manuka Arts Centre, starting from 4PM with Stella Eve, followed by a performance by yours truly, The Dalmatians.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate.

Family: $20
Adults: $12
Under 16: Free

I’ll finally be playing my original music on stage again! Much in line with my 2025 goal of playing many more originals gigs, this is a great way to kick off the first month of the year.
Tickets can be found here: https://www.smithsalternative.com/events/six-of-the-best-10-89859

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At Smith’s we love songs, and the songwriters that sing them. We host plenty of bands and we love them too, but every so often we’d like to strip the accompaniment away and hear the songs as they were written – one voice, one instrument, unadorned and vulnerable. For this tenth edition of Six of the Best, we have once again asked four very different song-writers to share six of their best songs with us. In order of appearance, we have…

Inez Hargaden is an emerging Canberra based singer-songwriter. Originally from Ireland, her emotive vocals and melodic guitar-driven songs draw on folk, trad, and rock influences to articulate stories.

Hayden Kinsman is that talented keyboardist you’ve seen playing in various local bands. He also teaches music, loves music theory, improvisation and singing and has recenty been putting it all together as a solo singer-songwriter.

Tsunamii & Spirit is a singer-songwriter from North Carolina. She believes that music shuld have a message and can be a powerful agent of social change and is also the way she shares love and joy with the world. She is travelling the world looking for fellow musicians to help her fully express the music she has running through her.

Saint Bogan's main claim to fame is being kicked out of a poetry reading in Fitzroy, but he is also a songwriter respected by those who would know. "The Bob Dylan of Dubbo" (pleb city studios) is touring his new album 'Kathryn Kulhmann Died a Long Time Ago' that explores faith, sunglasses and what Peter Dutton and Penny Wong’s frowns have in common. 

For the FIRST time in my life, I’m going to be playing and singing my own original songs on stage. I’ve wanted to do this for years, but only just mustered the courage to book it in to happen. I’ve played many gigs, but never been centre-stage. Time to change that! This is possibly the most important gig of my life, so I will be incredibly grateful to anyone who chooses to come and support.

It’s a part of Smith’s recurring “Bang! Beng! Bing! Bong! Bung” open mic event.
I’ll be playing around 7PM, for about 25 minutes.

I’ll be joined by two fantastic friends who have graciously offered to lend their lovely voices for harmonies:
Tab Hart, and Lily Sarah

$5 Entry at the door, or tickets available here:
https://www.smithsalternative.com/events/the-big-bang!!-beng!!-bing!!-bong!!-bung!!-84449

The Dalmatians are back for a night of rock, funk, folk, and fun!

Supported by the illustrious Neon Honey!

Ticket Link Here!

Hayden will be joining Kim Yang on stage for her much anticipated visit back to Canberra!

Ticket Link Here!

The Dalmatians will be rocking out The Pot Belly Bar on Friday, 10th of November 2023! We’ll be joined by guests Dana Hassall an Hex Ray.

I’ll be playing with both Dana Hassall and The Dalmatians on this night, so be sure to drop on by to see a great night of music!

$15 Entry at the door!