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Hopsters Sunday Sessions Presents:
Mark Moldre & Harvey Russell
Sunday 18th May
3 pm - 6 pm
Free Entry
Mark Moldre:
Mark Moldre is a singer/songwriter from northern NSW in Australia. He fronted 4 piece Hitchcock’s Regret for a 7 year period and recorded his first solo release in 2009 – the EP Troubled Genius (the title inspired by the Phil Spector trial). In 2010 he followed up with the LP The Waiting Room and the EP This Romantic Day under the guiding influence of Tim Powles (The Church), Michael Carpenter and Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil).
The Waiting Room was well received, gaining glowing reviews and steady airplay across Australia. After hearing the new album Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst chose Mark as one of his Top 10 Creative Sydney-ites for the VIVID festival and was moved to say about Mark’s new album ““A beautifully produced album of melancholic melodies; sad, grand, scary. 4 stars.”
In 2012 Mark called childhood friend and one time Bluebottle Kiss front man Jamie Hutchings to add his customary spit, grit and sandpaper to a swag of new tunes that would see Mark’s dreamy, melancholy previous fare turned on it’s head. The result was An Ear To The Earth – recorded live and direct to reel-to-reel tape. Not a computer in sight. Along with engineer Chris Colquhoun and long time sidemen Scott Hutchings, Reuben Wills and Adam Lang they laid down the tracks over a period of six days in a small guesthouse beside the beach hamlet of Avalon. Receiving 4 star reviews and strong radio support An Ear To The Earth (Laughing Outlaw Records) was filled with dark corners, tender romance, redemption and death, human struggle versus biblical consequences, dreams and bad weather.
2019 saw the release of Fever Dreams, recorded with the very same line-up as heard on An Ear To The Earth, this time woven into a looser rock ’n’ roll aesthetic. Produced again by Jamie Hutchings and recorded live and straight to 1” tape, Fever Dreams contains some genre-hopping sonic bedlam, fractured Americana-hued ballads, jazz-tinged standards, old-school Jungle Book style reggae and ramshackle/rollicking noir blues. An overwhelmingly successful Pozible campaign demonstrated the level of support and respect Moldre receives from fans of his music. As a result, Fever Dreams was pressed on vinyl, which also gives listeners the opportunity to fully appreciate the exceptional cover art painted by French-Canadian luthier/artist Lenny Piroth-Robert of Daddy Mojo Guitars.
“FEVER DREAMS – HOT ALBUM : Hypnotic, rollicking and restless. Fans Of Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Bob Dylan should immediately investigate” Jeff Jenkins, The Music.
Over his career Mark has gained Sydney residencies, festival spots and supports in iconic Australian venues like The Enmore Theatre and The National in Melbourne with acts such as The Church, Tex Perkins, Steve Kilbey, Mark Seymour, Toni Collette, The Break, The Backsliders, Jim Moginie, Ian Moss and many more. A highlight was taking his complete band line-up to France in July 2018 for a series of successful shows at the Binic Folks Blues Festival. (Read Mark’s Tour Diary here)
2023 has already seen the release of a brand new album – Nambucca Fables.
Harvey Russell:
Harvey is a traditional country and Americana artist from Sydney Australia. He released his debut solo album Liquid Damage, a collection of classic country songs for the modern world, in 2019 recalling everyone from George Jones to Jeff Tweedy. It heralded the arrival of a new solo artist on the local scene, though Harvey
had already had years of experience under his belt, both as the frontman for the rock and alt-country group Harvey Swagger
Band in the late 2000s, and then as one half of the more acoustic-based country-folk duoPeasant Moon.
Russell’s well-received solo album and its singles Please Don't Pretend, Walking Downtown (Again), and Gave You Flowers showed an artist with an innate ability to channel the classic tropes of country music throughout the 20th century and combine them with contemporary metropolitan alt-country. After a decade developing and honing his songwriting, he’s dialed into the heart of country music with an authentic and finely-tuned ear
for the song-craft of the genre, in all its forms. Americana UK said: “An excellent album from one of Australia’s finest country singers.”
After touring the album and writing and recording a bunch of new tracks over the past few years, Harvey released his second solo album Pure as the Flame in March 2024 through Heartland Music Australia. Recorded with his band, The Widowmakers, at Michael
Carpenter’s The House Studio in Sydney, these newer tracks combine traditional country and red dirt to develop Harvey’s unique take on the genre. ‘Honey Come Back to Me’ is a
hip-shaking honky tonk classic (with a touch of Wilco)! ‘Last Dance’ is a track from the heartland, reminiscent of John Mellencamp circa The Lonesome Jubilee, while ‘Look Me in
the Eye’ has a lush warm and classic sound balanced between familiar country and edgier alt-country sounds.
He has been described as a troubadour that can attract listeners who enjoy the storytelling of Paul Kelly, John Mellencamp and more, Russell effortlessly infuses traditional country with Americana music.
In recent years, Harvey’s music has received attention both in Australia and overseas. He has achieved international recognition with performances at Canadian Music Week (2016) and touring throughout the US in 2017. Peasant Moon’s debut EP was a finalist in the Australian Roots Music Awards (EP of the Year, 2016) and the song ‘Over Again’ was a finalist at the 2018 Tamworth Country Music Festival’s Songwriters Awards.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
198 Enmore Road, Enmore, NSW, Australia, New South Wales 2042, 198 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW 2042, Australia,Sydney, Australia, Alexandria
