Acacia Quartet will perform Richard Lawson’s new suite for classical string quartet, How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort at Four Winds on Saturday 30th August. This immersive literary and listening experience presents this rich new work with a performance of Elizabeth Walton’s poetry cycle, in a collaborative work which explores the beauty and sadness of the times we live in. During this sensory-rich convergence of poetry and the ephemeral magic of classical music, the artists will respond to Q&A’s and an interview with host, Eddie Williams. This project, which has received airplay across Australia, debuted on Limelight’s ABC Classic FM Australian Art Music playlist in January 2025.
‘How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort’ is out now on Spotify/YouTube and Apple Music for streaming. Its had airplay on ABC Classic FM and a sold out performance at Westwords in Parramatta
At an event to be hosted by Simon Marnie, Elizabeth Walton and Richard Lawson will launch their collaborative project, How To Read a City, Your Place of Last Resort at WestWords Parramatta on Thursday 29th of May. This immersive literary and listening experience presents Elizabeth’s poetry cycle and Richard’s debut classical suite recorded by the Acacia String Quartet. This collaborative work explores the beauty and sadness of the times we live in. During this sensory-rich convergence of poetry and the ephemeral magic of classical music, the artists will respond to Q & A’s from one of Australia’s favourite interviewers, Simon Marnie.
Australian Art Music playlist: January 2025 – Moving Forward
Happy New Year, and welcome back to the Australian Art Music playlist! A monthly playlist of classical, jazz, experimental and electronic music by Australian composers, musicians and sound artists. Oh how lovely to be included on Cameron’s, inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice, Australian Art Music playlist!
The Grooveyard just finished their short run of shows at Binalong, Smiths Alternative in Canberra and Marrickville Bowling Club to very enthusiastic audiences. Lots of old fans came out of the woodwork and new younger fans appreciated the great songs vocals and energy on display. Here is a picture rundown of some of the fun
Lost Australian power pop outfit, Grooveyard, is re-emerging from the mists of time for two shows only in February 2025, supporting the recent release of their back catalogue on digital channels. Grooveyard burned brightly but briefly on the burgeoning mid-1980s Sydney underground scene, releasing a single, the sublime Chris Masuak-produced “Avalanche of Love” and a selftitled EP before dissolving. Members went on to the Lime Spiders, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, the Screaming Tribesmen, Bambalams and Jeremy Oxley’spost-Sunnyboys band, The Chinless Elite. Grooveyard plays Smiths Alternative in Canberra on Friday, February 7 and Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney on Saturday, February 8, with a line-up of Jon Schofield (vocals and guitar), “The Reverend” Ian Little (guitar and vocals) and Richard Lawson (drums and vocals). Bob Wackley lives in the USA so hand-picked newcomer Daniel Corkhill will deputise on bass. Supports on both nights are top class featuring the On and Ons and the debut performance of Van Ruin at the Marrickville Bowlo and Canberra favourites Il Brutus at Smiths Alternative The Grooveyards brand of sixties infused Power Pop was against the grain of the hard Detroit style rock in Sydney in the burgeoning mid-eighties. The songs that flowed from Jon Scofield’s pen are world class and show great maturity and craftmanship. Now with the digital release of the Avalanche of Love single and self-titled EP we have evidence of a peculiar time in the glory days of Aussie pub rock and the enduring quality of these songs.
There are still many solo shows to go over this late period of Summer including some fantastic shows with The Grooveyard at Smiths Alternative in Canberra on Friday 7 Feb and Marrickville Bowling Club on Sat 8 Feb where I will be returning to the drumkit.
Coming up in 3 weeks time is the biggest event on the Mudgee calendar @flavoursofmudgee@kingsofcongo will be drumming up a storm for up to 10,000 people in the main square with @elizabethwalton.au and @eoinkeezy smashing it out with #weaponsofmasspercussion Here’s some action from last year #streetfestival #mudgeeregion #mudgeewine
Next Monday 17 June sees the release of the second single from the upcoming ‘How To Read A City [Your Place Of Last Resort] album featuring the renowned Acacia Quartet. ‘On Love Lost Days’ is a more introspective piece and shows the intimacy and nuance a great quartet can bring to the table. Mixed again by Benji Fowler and mastered at Studio 301 it is based on the poetry cycle of Australian Author and Musician Elizabeth Walton with another stunning painting by Jay Manby Thanks to Create NSW
Praise so far
“Richard Lawson is working with the Acacia Quartet in his new album “How To Read a City (Your Place of Last Resort)” and has released the title track from the album as a single. In this piece, Lawson is using the whole gamut of possible sounds from a string quartet. The central theme travels between the members of the quartet, it travels between plucked and bowed, it gives a feeling of difference within the whole.
This is a very clever use of the quartet, because while a whole city has an overarching feeling, within that feeling, there is difference, and the agility a string quartet can bring to the piece is able to capture that difference within the whole.
Lawson’s background as a drummer shows through in the percussive feel and silent pauses in the piece. Silence can create tension and add to the narrative of a piece, and you can feel that tension here. A city is silence as well as sound, and tension is always present. The very simplicity of a string quartet and how that can be transformed into complexity comes through in this piece. ‘How To Read A City’ is expressive, subtly impactful, and another brilliant piece from Richard Lawson.” John Lamp Geelong FM 94.7
Richard Lawson Music 