A collection of well traveled musicians is about to show off their internationally influenced brand of folk music during their first tour through Ballarat.
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The Resonant Rouges, a duo made up of Keith J. Smith on guitar, suitcase bass drum, percussion and vocals and Sparrow on the accordion, banjo and vocals have been making their way through Victoria as part of their first tour south of the equator.
Speaking with Sparrow, she told The Courier about their excitement surrounding their inaugural Australian tour.
"We're very excited," she said.
"We've never toured down here before, for three out of four of us it's our first time south of the equator," she laughed.
Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina in the United States, the group is enjoying the warm Australian climate.
"For us right now it's amazing here because it's actually warm. We're at the tail end of winter back home," Sparrow said.
Sharing a love for adventure and the outdoors, Sparrow spoke on how the group is influenced by travel and their surroundings.
"We are just very adventurous by nature, we've spent our car trips sharing our travel stories.
"One of the great things about playing music is that it can take you all kinds of places, so we want to share our music and share a bit of our culture while taking in other peoples cultured from around the world.
"We play a pretty wide variety of folk styles and I'd say that's influenced from all the places we've traveled as well as where we live."
Check out some of their music below.
Perhaps their biggest influence comes from their home in Asheville, as the local 'old-time music' has drastically shaped their music.
"Old-time music, which is the predecessor to country and bluegrass music, has a really strong culture in Asheville, so we definitely have that influence."
Growing up as the daughter of a geography and history teacher, Sparrow has always wanted to travel and take in cultures from around the globe.
"I always had a great appreciation for history from around the globe. I think music, food and art are really important things in building bridges between different cultures."
Not knowing much about Ballarat apart from its rich heritage, Sparrow stressed the importance of both preservation and innovation.
"I think there's a balance we need to strike between preservation and heritage and making sure traditions are kept alive while also not being xenophobic about it, making sure we're being open to other people and other cultures."
The Resonant Rogues bring their fun brand of rick folk music to Ballarat on March 15 at the Ballarat Trades Hall.
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