Événement

Great Aunt with Jessye DeSilva

Great Aunt

Formed in 2016, the duo is a collaboration between songwriter/instrumentalists Megan Bird (mandolin, resonator, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Chelsea Allen (double bass, vocals, percussion), and draws inspiration from the traditions of old time, bluegrass, and gospel music, with loving homage to their diverse backgrounds in punk, jazz, roots, soul, and folk music. The instrumentation and arrangements are bare and bold: using only various combinations of mandolin, guitar, or resonator with double bass and percussion, and the sonorous voices of Bird and Allen in harmony.

The duo has delighted audiences at some of Australias finest music and arts festivals, including Tamworth Country Music Festival, Deni Ute Muster, The GAS, Wintermoon, Healesville Music Festival, and Newport Folk Festival, amongst others.

Great Aunt are currently busy in their home studio, producing and recording their debut full-length album, It's All Downhill From Here due for release in 2021.

Americana usually calls to mind the bayous of Louisiana, the pocket communities of the Appalachian mountains, or the great plains of the American heartland, but Melbourne, Australias Great Aunt prove that, despite its name, not all great Americana comes from the United States. - Not a Sound, July 2019

Jessye DeSilva
Jessye DeSilva (they/them) beams when they sing out a secret. The Boston-based artist weaves tapestries of witch pop and folk rock with their empathetic moral fiber, strengthened by the radical honesty that grounds their buoyant melodies. Rich with resilience and compassion, DeSilva centers their craft around community, reaching out from behind the piano to share their uplifting spirit with listeners. Their newest LP Landscapes (April 2022) forges a path through the triumphant and trembling moments of their life, sun-soaked and vivid like the 70s folk rock that soundtracked their childhood. And even when themes of religious trauma and mental health peek through, DeSilvas smile remains unshakable. As American Songwriter explains in 2021s 10 LQBTQ+ Artists You Should Know, Pain hangs off their lips, fueling them to greater, more soaring heights.
(written by Victoria Waslyak)