Folk In The Blue - A new quarterly folk event at Hotel Blue as part of the 'Live In The Attic' series of Sunday concerts. Folk In The Blue brings quality folk and traditional artists from the Blue Mountains and beyond to an attractive, licensed venue in the heart of Katoomba. The format presents three acts per night - a feature act and two support acts.

Like the Greenwich Village coffee clubs that nurtured the 60's folk revival, Folk in the Blue aims to present folk music as it should be - engaging, political, varied, professional and affordable. We feel that folk music is made by, and for, people of all ages and therefore we aim to have at least one young performer at each concert. We do not offer floor spots as there are already folk clubs in the Blue Mountains which offer these on a regular basis. All money earned from ticket sales goes directly to the artists themselves.

The first Folk In The Blue event presents a showcase of quality Blue Mountains folk songwriters, with local band The Flash Coves, and acclaimed local singer-songwriters Tony Eardley, and Francesca Sidoti.

The Flash Coves

Hailing from the Blue Mountains, The Flash Coves have performed at festivals and folk clubs across NSW since early 2013, and have individually contributed to the Australian folk scene over decades. This trio of genteel musical mountain-folk have a deep love of original Australian folk songs and curly, stomping tunes from various parts of the world. They also have more strings between them than you could imagine (even their fiddle has 10) and an equal number of stories to tell, brought forth from the depths of Australian history; flying dogs, lost love in first fleet Sydney, Irish immigration and the simple passion a bearded Australian folk singer has for his coffee. From the comic to the heartfelt, and always involving conversation with the audience, a Flash Coves gig is as nourishing as it is diverse.

Tony Eardley

Blue Mountains folk-roots performer Tony Eardley has a reputation for deeply poetic songwriting etched with finely-nuanced observation. His 2007 debut album Desire Lines gathered widespread critical acclaim, with Bruce Elder writing in the Sydney Morning Herald “This is a remarkable CD from one of the most talented performers on the Australian folk and festival scene. Listen and be amazed at how rich and intelligent modern folk can be”. Late onset fatherhood took him off the road for some years but now he's back with a clutch of new songs, including one that won him the 2016 Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust Songs for Social Justice Award. Prepare to be stirred, moved and amused.

Francesca Sidoti

Francesca Sidoti is an acclaimed songwriter of contemporary Australia and a highly accomplished singer and guitarist. In her recent album ‘Houses’, she explores recognisable but rarely captured landscapes; a tourist town, caught between peak periods and empty shop facades, a love letter to the late afternoon light of Sydney and the disingenuousness of the Hills Hoist dream. Folk music has always been about place, and Sidoti’s songs bring those traditions to a modern outlook, creating intricate works of contemporary folk.