Whiskey Dram folk music jam at Bega farmers market grows new fans

Whiskey Dram is a folk band that captures both original pieces and traditional folk tunes, Irish folk, to blues, bluegrass and funk.

While some songs are well-known, their performance asks your feet to tap and you may begin to become curious of where to find the lyrics to join.

Sven Helland, his hat full of feathers, positioned himself precariously on the edge of a wooden stool, his 100-year-old fiddle and bow in hand.

His brother, Leif Helland, sat opposite with a larger Australian-made fiddle, its varnish has cracked in such a way that it appears like the dry cracked earth from drought.

Sven's daughter Freyja Helland held a lagerphone; a traditional English percussion instrument made out of bottlecaps nailed to a wooden stick.

Andrew Kordas stood alongside his double bass, which he originally received in broken pieces before putting it back together, while a harmonica sat in a bracket held to the instrument's neck.

And folk musician and singer-songwriter Russell Martin nestled himself with his "vintage" guitar, a purchase he made in Glastonbury for "cheap", though the pickup costs more that the instrument itself.

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Each instrument looks as though they have been through a story themselves.

"Hard folk is the best genre I can come up with that encompasses what we do. It goes from very traditional folk all the way through to folk punk and everything in between," said Russell.

"Usually we play in a pub or at a festival, we played Cobargo, we're playing at Wanderer."

As the band began to perform, Steve Ryan, holding a mandolin and carrying a red whistle case walked over and found a spot on the edge of the gazebo, and as though he was a member of the group, joined simultaneously in harmonious voice and melody.

He may have started "playing the piano at the age of five", but he became part of the Bega produce market-playing band two minutes ago.

On Saturday, May 13, Whiskey Dram is performing at Tilba Valley Winery from 12pm to 3pm, and Sunday, May 14, it will be performing at Tathra Hotel from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. For more information, click here

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