Come and witness the debut of a new kind of Far South Coast supergroup.
Leading the charge is Davey Hilder — a seasoned guitarist and vocalist whose music featured in the 1996 film The Cable Guy. On drums is Richard Lawson, ARIA-nominated drummer of Lime Spiders fame, now a sought-after multi-instrumentalist and composer, recently creating a string song cycle for Acacia Quartet and Elizabeth Walton. Holding down the low end on bass is Kip Gamblin — actor and former principal dancer with Sydney Dance Company.
Together, they deliver an irresistible blend of reggae-infused grooves, driving rock rhythms, and a carefully chosen selection of covers that feel both familiar and freshly reimagined.
Catch their debut performance at River Rock Cafe Bermagui on Saturday, May 23, from 8pm–11pm.
Thank you so much to Phoenix Central Park The Church and @nenaberetin for the opportunity to perform the film/poetry/music cycle ‘How to read a city, your place of last resort’ with @elizabethwalton.au and Acacia Quartet The staff, techies were exceptional!!! It’s been a hell of a ride but worth every minute.
The event unfolded to a rapt full house and the event was captured in photoes by @valeriejoy.jpg
Quick video here of ‘How to read a city’…forgive the iphone audio
I will be performing in collaboration in Sydney at 3 select events in May to coincide with the impending release of Elizabeth Waltons debut book of Poetry ‘How to read a city, your place of last resort’
There will be appearances from the famed Acacia Quartet to new music being presented along with poetry performance. Hope to see you there
Join Elizabeth as she launches her new publication with 5 Islands Press, and other publications, including a recent anthology with Westwords. Signed copies will also be available at readings and events. For bookstore or library enquiries, please use her page contact.
Elizabeth will be performing her work and musical delights with Richard Lawson in an evening that will be part listening experience, part extravaganza, part poetry, part new music.
This will be a special, intimate book launch event where 5 Islands Press writers Hemat Malak and Kai Jensen will be Elizabeth’s special guests.
Elizabeth will present a short reading from her new poetry collection, How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort with Richard Lawson, after an interview with everybody’s favourite literary interviewer, Suzanne Leal, followed by an Open Mic with Westwords Academy alumni and other poets.
“How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort is a stirring meditation on climate change and the natural world composed by punk rock drummer, Richard Lawson and performed by Acacia Quartet. Film and artistic direction by Elizabeth Walton, who reads from her poetry cycle of the same name, which was published by 5 Islands Press in 2026. Described by artist, Imants Tillers, as “a beautifully nuanced and balanced combination of original musical composition and performance, imagery and spoken word,” this project responds to the urgency of climate grief and the quiet beauty of still-wild places. Each piece in this song cycle reflects our contemporary interphase with city life and the natural world, exploring the Symbiocene as an urgent and critical response to the extinction crisis. This work invites listeners to slow down and listen deeply, in a performance which blends science with lush string textures, evocative contemporary harmonies and melodic lines which trace a journey through changing landscapes, and ecologies. “This cycle is my way of listening to the land,” says composer Richard Lawson. “It’s easy to feel lost sometimes, or hopeless, but I see so much hope for this beautiful world. In this performance, we invite you to meet us there.”
Join us at @madpoetnewcastle Thurs 26 March for a night of new poetry at the very first pre-launch reading of Elizabeth Walton’s @elizabethwalton.au debut short collection, How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort, which will be published by 5 Islands Press @5islandspress in 2026. Elizabeth Walton is a writer and musician who has been shortlisted in many literary prizes. This new work asks where to find hope while living through the challenges of climate change. It is a collaboration with Richard Lawson @richardlawsonmusic – a triple ARIA-nominated punk rock drummer who was the first drummer to appear on ABC’s Rage, performing with the Lime Spiders. His song cycle for string quartet, How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort, performed by Acacia Quartet, was included in the ABC Limelight Australian Art Music playlist in 2025. Elizabeth’s poetry reading with Acacia at the world premiere is featured on the cover of her new book. Elizabeth will be appearing at Newcastle Writers Festival with the Macquarie/Westwords project, Nurejev’s Foot. @westwords_books
Susan Francis is a writer of short fiction, long fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Her most recent work is the novel, Revelation Beach, which at its centre tells the story of the Balibo Five, and will be featured at Newcastle Writers Festival. Susan lives and works on the land of the Awabakal people.
Dr Jodi Vial writes across the forms of poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction, with a focus on the intersection of literature, landscape and history. She has been published by Spineless Wonders, Recent Work Press and Papatuanuku Press and her short story cycle, Lives of Girls and Women, resides in the University of Newcastle’s permanent art collection. Jodi lives and writes on the unceded lands of the Awabakal and Worimi.
Over the years, I’ve been asked countless times to release the diaries from my Lime Spiders days, as well as my farming adventures at Figtree Retreat Olives and Farmstay in Mudgee NSW. After much procrastination (and a mountain of notebooks, photos, and memories), I’ve finally begun collating, editing, and sharing excerpts on Substack.
Some of these posts have already attracted interest for wider publication—magazines, podcasts, and even The Last Post, an Australian independent outlet, have expressed interest in featuring them.
The material spans decades—from 1980 all the way to 2026, and even further back in some cases. There’s a lot to wade through, a lifetime of stories and snapshots. Perhaps one day it will coalesce into a proper book. For now, we’ll see how it unfolds.
For those interested in following along, the entries are on Substack—a writers’ hub and, for the moment, my makeshift workstation and archive of memories.
I’ve played a heap of solo and acoustic shows this year. Love doing them as there is an immediacy from just the guitar and I playing solo and acoustic. There is NO backing track safety net and the punters react to the honesty and emotional delivery.
I’ve played everywhere from Braidwood to Eden to Batemans Bay all over the South of the state and have made many new friends along the way whilst keeping my vocal chords and playing fingers nice and warm!
I’ve played with Damion Stirling on and off for over 15 years and have cemented a firm friendship with us and Elizabeth Walton based on shared love of Organics/Social Justice/Environment and Good music on percussion [African and Traps].
Damo played and gave us an African Blessing at our wedding and we have kept in regular contact over the years. We love him!
Imagine my good fortune to have his percussion group ‘Beatmeisters’ announce a gig just down the road from us at Murrah Hall on Sat Jan 31 when I don’t have one of my regular solo and acoustic coast gigs. I made contact and he was keen to get me up on the Timbales, which we used to do with Benji and the Saltwater Soundsystem a few years back.
Suffice to say we had an awesome time and Elizabeth Walton came along for a boogie and brought her flash canon camera and caught some of the action with her wonderful photography!! I slotted in after a few listens to their Soundcloud rehearsals and was immediately taken by the 2 young flamenco guitarists [Thomas and ??] who gave it a samba flair. Great night and a great way to catch up with Damo!!!t
Thanks so much David Rogers for capturing the magic of the moment – a packed house for the world premiere of #HowToReadACity last Sat 30August- so many people involved in this massive project it’s hard to know where to begin. Firstly thanks to artistic director @elizabethwalton.au and Acacia Quartet for bringing this project to love and life over the last few years. Thanks to Four Winds for making the recording and the event possible. Thanks to my good mate @benji_fowler and @sams.caravan Eddie Williams at ABC South East NSW and Create NSW for supporting this amazing collaboration. All my love has gone into this and I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks to ABC CLassic and 2MBSFM in Sydney for supporting emerging composers! Sometimes the sum is bigger than the parts and I am so grateful to you all for this wonderful opportunity cheers Richardlawsonmusic
Richard Lawson Music 
