http://justinwalshe.bandcamp.com/album/small-tales-vol-1

Willshire

Mistake

Drunk

Buckley's

Nevereverever (Demo)

Doctor (Sniffin' Glue) Demo

The Wrong Willshire

Mixing the best elements of folk, bluegrass, and Americana into a uniquely folk machine sound, filtered through the dead dry arid Western Australian sense of humour, which is at the absolute core of their work, the Folk Machine is a sprawling acoustic storm of bluegrass instruments spun around word-hanging storytelling. 

Their third album, Small Tales Vol. 2 was released to a sold out bar in Fremantle in Feb 2016 and has already received rave reviews including 4/5 stars from Themusic.com: “each song is a killer, packed with gorgeous, effortless melodies, thoughtful lyrics and a mood that's seriously immersive.” 

Their sound has changed over the years, moving from electrified country rock to a more intimate, yet still expansive, bluegrass sound. Their second album, Walking to China (2010) crystallized the early vision of the band as an epic country-rock storytelling juggernaut tackling grand tales of shipwrecks and explorers amongst more personal tales. This album and several national tours brought them into the national spotlight, hailed as "the next chapter in Australian folk" among other lofty claims and widespread critical acclaim. The ambitious follow up was to be a concept album about Australia's two most notorious and forsaken explorers entitled, "The Epic Tale of Burke & Wills." Despite bringing the house down during a run of festival performances of the show in 2012 & 13 and being nominated for Best WA Folk Act at the WAMi's, the record, much like the expedition itself, ran into terminal problems from several angles and is still stranded halfway through its journey on the banks of a dry creek bed in the middle of nowhere patiently awaiting rescue.

The band recouped with Small Tales Vol. 1 in 2014 recorded in Walshe's loungeroom over an Autumn weekend. This collection of smaller tales, presented in a stripped back form, still delighted audiences nation-wide and heralded a new, more acoustic and song-focused direction for the Folk Machine. The band's harmony duo of Justin & Rhyll were invited to perform at The National Folk Festival in Canberra and their song 'Willshire' was nominated for WAM Song of the Year. "Though modest, Small Tales is worthy of big heads. Walshe & Co are the finest yarn-spinners since wool came to Australia. The only disappointment? Volume 2 can't come quickly enough" (RTR 92.1FM).

From solo to an eight piece band, the ever evolving Folk Machine have played festivals around the country, received national airplay and critical acclaim for their last two albums, been nominated for numerous WAMi awards and are notorious for their indefatigably entertaining live shows, ambitious storytelling and high calibre, off-kilter songs. 

"Walshe's witty songwriting, tongue-in-cheek humour and between-song banter you could bottle is always a recipe for an enjoyable show." Stack Magazine

The Folk Machine

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