The Good Behaviours bring an original folk music experience to Wagga

Contemporary folk group The Good Behaviours are coming to Wagga and musician Nick Henderson promises a unique musical experience.

Described as original Australian banjo chamber folk, the five-piece ensemble will perform tracks from their new album It’ll Be Alright at The Curious Rabbit on Saturday, 12 October.

“Australian chamber folk is a new movement in the folk community of this more melodically styled instrumental folk music,” Nick said, breaking down their niche.

“It’s informed by chamber music, so it has those elements from that classical realm, but it is also very broad and open to all genres.

“And then the final piece of the puzzle with The Good Behaviours is that I play banjo in the band and write the music for it, so there’s an old-time banjo element in there as well.”

Nick describes himself as a “recovering jazz musician” who studied double bass at the Sydney Conservatory of Music but fell in love with the banjo during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During lockdown, I didn’t really feel like playing the bass, and there just so happened to be an old five-string banjo sitting around the house,” he said.

“We couldn’t go anywhere, and there wasn’t much else to do, so I picked it up and through YouTube tutorials and various other things, I became obsessed with old-time clawhammer banjo, and so I pretty much played it every single day of lockdown.”

Nick explained that the clawhammer banjo technique is an older, gentler approach to the instrument.

“A lot of people think of the banjo as a very brash, loud, fast, sort of bluegrass-style instrument, but the style that I play predates bluegrass and is a lot more mellow and folky,” he said.

“I find it a very meditative instrument and I can just sit on the porch and play banjo for hours on end and completely lose track of time. I love it.”

The five-piece band also features veteran performers Chris Stone on violin, Holly Downes on double bass, Emily-Rose Sarkova on accordion and guitarist Felix Lalanne. Nick said it was a wholly original mix that delivered a fresh and original sound.

“I actually don’t know of another band that has our peculiar combination and it’s this really interesting blend of all these experienced musicians coming together and we really play as one when we play live. It’s quite a special thing,” Nick said.

Much of the new album is inspired by Nick and bass player Holly’s upbringing on the Hawkesbury, north of Sydney.

“The Hawkesbury River, or Dyarubbin, is incredibly majestic, and I was very lucky to grow up there, and I make a point of speaking of the Indigenous history of the area and how that part of the world was known as the ‘bread-basket of the colony’ in very early settlement,” Nick said.

“So as well as the beauty, there’s a lot of violence in the history of the area, so I tell those stories and my music is informed by all the learnings that I’m taking on as I get older.”

In addition to story, Nick aims to share something deeper through the music and said that the live performances could have an emotional impact on both the audience and the performers.

“I think instrumental music can sometimes go direct to the heart, more than music with lyrics in it, and I’ve found that writing this music and playing the banjo can be a very therapeutic thing,” he said.

“My goal is to connect without speaking, and so far on the tour this music has been connecting with people and we’ve had people with tears in their eyes as we play songs, and I can’t deny that I’ve been crying myself sometimes too.

“I think it’s actually quite an emotional and cathartic experience for us as musicians and we’ve got a lot of great feedback from audience members too.”

The Good Behaviours are performing at The Curious Rabbit on Saturday, 12 October.