Hidden Treasures winter music series kicks off in Freo this Thursday (6 July) with a packed four-week programme of live music hitting the town every Thursday night in July. Festival curator David Craddock gave Scoop the lowdown on the top 10 acts you really shouldn't miss.
1. Galloping Foxleys
These guys are a gloriously boisterous folk band with a celtic/country tinge. They're a hell of a lot of fun live and I guarantee you'll fall in love with them.
2. WAYJO Presents A Hip Hop Hooray
A lot of work's gone into this show. It sees the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra team up with leading WA hip hop artists POW Negro, Mathas, Silvertongue, Alex Ford and Hyclass for two live hip hop sets where the artists are backed by specially-scored big band accompaniment. It doesn't get much better than that.
3. Wayne Green & The Phantoms
Wayne is a legend of WA's early pub-rock scene and he's reforming his band The Phantoms for this show. It'll be a walk down memory lane for a lot of people who previously saw them play venues such as the Scarborough Beach Hotel. This is one I'm really looking forward to, especially because it'll be fun to watch Wayne and the band slap a new, younger audience around the cheeks with their sound.
4. Thee Loose Hounds
A very exciting gut-bucked, garage-punk three-piece that are really hot at the moment. They play it fuzzy, loud and straight up!
5. Jacob Diamond
Probably one of WA's most criminally underrated songwriters. Jacob has an amazing way with melody and has such a diverse style. Some of his tunes start out as Rufus Wainwright-esque epics and end up as cosmic psych-outs.
6. Lucy Peach
Lucy is one of the artists playing our acoustic 'tram' gigs. Her intimate songwriting is the perfect fit for this part of the festival, which sees a tram picking audience members up from the High Street and then taking them to beautiful spots like South Mole and the Fremantle War Memorial while listening to live music from one of our acts.
7. Lucky Oceans & Friends
Lucky surely has to be the only chap in WA who's won two Grammy Awards. He made his name with western swing behemoth Asleep At The Wheel, then moved to Australia to become the country's most in-demand pedal steel player. For this show he's pulling together members of the WA bands he's played in over the years for a walk down memory lane.
8. Scalphunter
Probably the heaviest band we have on the bill, Scalphunter are a hardcore/punk act with a face-melting onstage energy and presence. A classic example of Hidden Treasures' diverse booking policy.
9. Boat Show
These gals (and dude) have been touring hard around the country opening for San Cisco and seem to be making a swag of new fans at every turn. I love their fuzzed-out, straight-to-the-point tunes.
10. DJ Peter Bell
We've convinced Dockers legend and ABC presenter Peter Bell to DJ one of our "Freonality" DJ sets at the National Hotel. I can't wait to see which bangers he picks.
Hidden Treasures Winter Music Series runs every Thursday in July.
