The Marvellous Hearts are celebrating Carlyn joining our crew on fiddle with this special unplugged concert in the fabulous acoustics of Humph Hall - a great way to hear our original music in a completely unplugged intimate environment.
The Ladybeans vocal duo will also be joining us & we are really looking forward to hearing their magical vocal harmonies without microphones in this beautiful space.
Carlyn Chen was classically trained in a former life but now happily meanders through alternate universes of folk, blues, roots, Americana, and wherever songwriters take her and enjoys using her strings to help tell a story.
When Captain Bluetongue of Sydney duo the Blues Preachers embarked on his new project it was a case of following his heart. The seasoned musician, who has performed at festivals all over Australia, including Byron Bay Bluesfest, the Woodford Folk Festival, the Blue Mountains Music Festival and the Gympie Muster, wrote a bunch of songs that felt like they needed a new home and so the Marvellous Hearts were born.
At first the Captain, who also runs the Bluetongue Harmonica School, thought he’d just hire a few musicians to record the tracks, but the more people heard about the project, the more they wanted to get on board. Now his ragtag crew includes the talented line-up of George Rigatos on lead guitar, Hutch on percussion, Carlyn Chen on fiddle and Katherine Vavahea with The Ladybeans on backing vocals.
They’ve been compared to the Beatles and Bob Dylan by none other than music icon Stuart Coupe, with their tracks being spun on 2ser. They’ve also had comparisons drawn to Tom Petty and the Black Sorrows and been played across the country on community radio and the ABC.
If the Blues Preachers evoked classic blues of the 1930s and ’40s, then the Marvellous Hearts take their starting point from the ’60s and ’70s. It’s a sentiment that’s reflected in their debut self-titled release. featuring songs Love Is Great , Impatient World, Lovesick Rambling Blues and Babble On, as well as the recent audience favourite, Polly Wants a Cracker. The band love taking their songs to stages across Australia or wherever the road leads.
Visit their web site.
“This is like a sonic time machine that can take you way back to a simpler time, filled with awe and wonder.” - Nkechi Anele, Roots ‘N’ All, Triple J
“The Marvellous Hearts sound like what happens when you give crate-digging music fanatics instruments and tell them to go make a record. There’s snippets of every record they’ve ever heard swirling around in their sound. One minute you hear The Beatles, then it’s Bob Dylan on rotation. Hell, then I hear a fragment that reminds me of one particular Paul Kelly song, and another faint echo that had me thinking Goanna. And yet out of this melting pot comes something distinct and un-pigeonholeable. And did I mention that they ooze attitude? I like them. Chances are you will too.” - Stuart Coupe
“The Marvellous Hearts a blues-inspired musical gumbo! With a sound anchored in the blues, the band traverse sizeable sonic territory, incorporating folk, and flourishes of rock and reggae that all add up to a very tasty musical gumbo.” - Newcastle Live May 2021
