Respected folk musicians Scott and Louisa Wise and their three daughters Ruth (15), Lucy (14) and Rowena (11) make up this heart-warming emerging band. Recently written up in the UK’s prestigious fRoots Magazine (“a family that plays together really plays together!”), the Wises emit a lot of energy, 5-part harmonies, tunes and songs in a diverse range of musical styles--whatever sounds good to them!
In the band the girls (who are already veteran buskers) sing and play fiddles, ukuleles, cello, electric bass, harmonica, accordion, spoons and triangle. Scott and Louisa add voices, guitars, dobro, mandolin, cittern and song/tune-writing skills. As an added interest, most of the instruments were made by Scott, who is a respected professional luthier.
Their repertoire includes folk music from Australia, the British Isles and
Scandinavia. Due to Louisa’s American origins and Scott’s involvement in the inimitable acoustic blues band The Ten Cent Shooters, it also includes Blues, pre-Blues African-American folk songs, regional US fiddle styles including Cajun tunes from Louisiana, and works of contemporary songwriters. Their “domestic blues” songs always delight an audience.
The family comes from Margaret River in W.A’s deep south west, where forest and ocean combine to form an atmosphere conducive to music and instrument-making.
During March and April 2002, the family band played at The Famous Spiegeltent at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, The South Australian Folk Centre, The Brunswick Music Festival in Melbourne, The National Folk Festival In Canberra and numerous smaller concerts on the way. They released their first CD “Sweet Child” on the tour.
The Wise Family Band has appeared at WA’s Fairbridge, Bridgetown, Araluen, Nannup Mandurah, Fremantle, Esperence and Margaret River (Olive) Festivals. Further
afield, they have also appeared at The National Folk Festival in Canberra, Brunswick Music Festival in Melbourne, Woodford Folk Festival in Qld., and Port Fairy Folk Festival in Victoria.
See them Saturday, March 5, at the Folk Centre.
Visit
The Wise Family website...
"A CD from some of Australia's best performers, The Wise Family Band from Margaret River in Western Australia goes from strength to strength as the three daughters Ruth, Lucy and Rowena continue to grow musically as well as physically.
Father Scott and mother Louisa bring them all together here for another selection of reels, rags, gospel, blues and traditional Scottish, English and Irish songs and tunes of the family kind.
I recently heard someone say,
'Look to your past to secure your future'. It looks pretty secure down around the Wise country, I would
say. Five voices in harmony, four fiddle players, guitar, mandolin, slide guitar. Lock your kids in their room and make 'em
listen to this, I say."
~ Mike Cooper in fRoots magazine 2004