For five decades, Roger Knox has been performing classic Australian country music all over the world, so he has plenty of stories to tell and the Spiegeltent is a fantastic place to hear them tonight. He plays with his son Buddy accompanying him on guitar and backing vocals
After opening with I Am Aborigine he talks about how his people knew their land without the need for defined borders, before launching into a brilliant country song called Malabar Mansion, written about life in prison. Another prison related song – Warrior In Chains – follows, the song written by a Native American man he met in a Canadian prison.
A song about the sinking feeling experienced after a big night called Scobie sits well next to Ticket To Nowhere (on which Charlie Louvin joined Knox for the recording) and Koori Rose before Buddy takes over for Live The Life You Wanna Live and Squeaky Chair Blues.
The harmonies between these two men can't be taught, they're absolutely brilliant, and then Buddy's young son Teangi Knox joins in to make it three generations of Knox greatness on stage at once.
It's a heart-warming night of song from one of the country's most talented musical families and a pretty great education in great Australian country music.
