The Music Show

ABC
  • 5.0 (4)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

All kinds of music and all kinds of musicians in conversation with Andrew Ford.

  1. 2D AGO

    Nairobi comes to Adelaide with Blinky Bill, and the weird and wondrous sacred music of Gesualdo

    Carlo Gesualdo was a Renaissance composer, a prince, and a murderer. His sacred music, including his Tenebrae Responsoria, is a strange collection of settings full of dissonance and chromatic moving parts. AJ America is the Artistic Director of Luminescence Chamber Singers, and she joins Andy to talk about how the gory details of Gesualdo's life translate to the music. Blinky Bill is a Kenyan musician and producer who, as part of the group Just A Band, drove the development of alternative music in Nairobi and Kenya more broadly. His music draws from all over Africa and the diaspora, and he's about to come to Australia where he's performing at WOMADelaide... and you'll be able to see The Music Show in action there too!

    54 min

  2. 3D AGO

    Gillian Welch and David Rawlings celebrate new music and a big anniversary; and Raphael Pichon's surprising choice of Orfeo

    Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are one of the great couples of Americana, with a catalogue that stretches back decades. Along the way they've put their stamp on the classics of American folk, and created more than a few classics of their own. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Time (The Revelator), they're heading back to Australia to show off their latest collection of new material: Woodland. They performed material from both albums live in the Music Show studios.  Raphaël Pichon leads Ensemble Pygmalion, a French historically informed performance group which, unusually, is a choir and orchestra operating as one ensemble. They’re making their Australian debut at the Adelaide Festival with three programmes - including Monteverdi and Bach and, after 400 years, the Australian debut of Rossi's Orfeo. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' tour dates are available here. And Ensemble Pygmalion are performing Bach, Monteverdi, and Rossi at the Adelaide Festival. Title: Requiem in D minor, KyrieArtist: Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon, Ying FangComposer: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlbum: Mozart: RequiemLabel: Harmonia Mundi Title: Empty Trainload of SkyArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony Records Title: HashtagArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony Records Title: Everything Is FreeArtist: Gillian WelchComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: Time (The Revelator) Label: Acony Records Title: Missa Brevis in F major; II. GloriaArtist: Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro, Sydney Fierro, Magid El-Bushra, Eugénie Warnier, Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble PygmalionComposer: Johann Sebastian BachAlbum: JS Bach: Missæ BrevesLabel: Alpha Title: Hymnus "Ave maris stella"Artist: Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble PygmalionComposer: Claudio MonteverdiAlbum: Monteverdi: Vespro della beata VergineLabel: Harmonia Mundi Title: Extract from the Tenebrae settings for Maundy ThursdayArtist: Luminescence Chamber SingersComposer: Carlo GesualdoCourtesy of Luminescence The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, and Turrbal and Yuggera Country Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor and Steve Fieldhouse

    54 min

  3. FEB 8

    Lachlan Skipworth on expanding his compositional palette and Worlds Only embrace the moment

    Lachlan Skipworth, one of Australia's most beautiful compositional voices, has a very unusual new double concerto - for trumpet and clarinet - set to premiere with Omega Ensemble. He tells Andy how a series of 'joyful and uplifting' commissions added a new string to his bow. And Thomas William Smith & Mara Schwerdtfeger from the ambient collective Worlds Only share why they prefer to exist in the moment, creating live shows that are full of pieces of structured improvisation that might never be heard again.  Omega Ensembles performance dates are available here Worlds Only performance details here Music in this program: Title: Tarmac in the ProvinceArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent release Title: Altiora Peto, Concerto for Trumpet and Strings; I. Moderato ritmico – Adagio – Tempo primoArtist: David Elton & Sydney String VirtuosiComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Altiora PetoLabel: ABC Classics Title: Quintet for Bass Recorder and String Quartet; II. TranquilloArtist: Genevieve Lacey & Australian String QuartetComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Altiora PetoLabel: ABC Classics Title: The Night Sky FallArtist: Ashley William Smith, Louise Devenish, Emily Green-ArmytageComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Lachlan Skipworth: Chamber WorksLabel: Navona Records Title: Song for Sad TimesArtist: GanavyaComposer: GanavyaAlbum: NilamLabel: Leiter Title: SanctuaryArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent release Title: TabbedArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent release Title: Meteoric ChatArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent release Title: The Bells And The BirdsArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony Records The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

    54 min

  4. FEB 7

    Andrea Keller's Transients; and Ian Thompson takes us to the French musical underground of 1968

    Andrea Keller is not only a pianist, composer, bandleader and educator, she's also the Jazz Ambassador at this year's Clarence Jazz Festival, celebrating its 30th year. She joins Andy to talk about creating a web of collaborators in her Transients series.  Ian Thompson's book, Synths, Sax and Situationists, examines the music of the French underground that began with the Paris 'events' of May 1968. For the next decade, bands such as Daevid Allen's Gong, Red Noise and Heldon were sometimes overtly political, but always subversive. Andy talks to Ian Thompson about the times and the music.

    54 min

  5. FEB 1

    Neil and Tim Finn unsplit the Enz and Reuben Brown on the music of Arnhem Land

    Tim Finn and Neil Finn have worked together in a number of guises over the years: Crowded House, The Finn Brothers, and guesting on each other’s solo projects. But it all began with Split Enz, and there’s something about that music that keeps bringing them back together. Neil and Finn reminisce about their early collaborations, explain how a setlist comes together, and share how The Eagles were a surprising influence on the band. Back in 1948, a major scientific expedition travelled to Arnhem Land to catalogue that place and its people, including recordings of the music and ceremony they witnessed there. Those recordings drew the ethnomusicologist Dr Reuben Brown to Arnhem Land many decades later and, on that trip, Reuben met senior western Arnhem Land songmen who invited him to make recordings of his own - to document their songs for future generations. It also led to a book, The Gift of Song. Andy Irvine is on tour now - Newcastle, Bathurst, Sydney. And next week, Andy (Ford) will be in conversation with him at the Gaelic Club in Sydney, at 6pm - all welcome. Split Enz's Australian tour dates are available here. Listeners are advised that the episode discusses people who have died. The music in this episode is the Indigenous cultural intellectual property (ICIP) of Bininj/Arrarrkpi ceremony leaders and custodians. Use without proper attribution of the ICIP owners may breach customary laws as well as copyright and moral rights under the Copyright Act 1968 (Australian Govt). Reuben Brown wishes to thank the people of Gunbalanya, Warruwi, and Jabiru and surrounding outstations who have hosted him on their Country and to the Bininj and Arrarrkpi ceremony leaders, custodians, and knowledge holders who generously contributed to the book and knowledge discussed in this episode. Music in this program: Title:  Nganaru songset Artist: Billy NamunurrAlbum: Archival recording Title: Give It A WhirlArtist: Split Enz Composer: Neil Finn, Tim FinnAlbum: FrenzyLabel: Mushroom Title: Late Last NightArtist: Split EnzComposer: Phil JuddAlbum: Second ThoughtsLabel: Mushroom Title: I Got YouArtist: Split Enz Composer: Neil FinnAlbum: True ColoursLabel: Mushroom Title: One Step AheadArtist: Split EnzComposer: Neil FinnAlbum: WaiataLabel: Mushroom Title: Missing PersonArtist: Split EnzComposer: Neil FinnAlbum: True ColoursLabel: Mushroom Title: Six Months In A Leaky BoatArtist: Split EnzComposer: Split Enz, Tim FinnAlbum: Time and TideLabel: Mushroom Title: Spellbound (Eddie Rayner remix)Artist: Split EnzComposer: Phil Judd, Tim FinnAlbum: Enzyclopedia: Volumes One & TwoLabel: Warner Music Australia Title:  Marrwakara ‘goanna’ and Mularrik Mularrik ‘green frog’ songsetArtist: Harold Warrabin & Micky YalbarrAlbum: Archival recording Title:  Inyjalarrku ‘mermaid' songArtist: Rupert Manmurulu, Renfred Manmurulu, Solomon NangamuAlbum: Archival recording Title:  Mirrijpu ‘seagull’ songset featuring the Nigi or ‘mother’ song Artist: Solomon Nangamu, Russell Agalara, Rupert ManmuruluAlbum: Archival recording Title: My Heart's Tonight In IrelandArtist: Andy IrvineComposer: Andy IrvineAlbum: Rain On The RoofLabel: AK Records The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

    54 min

  6. JAN 31

    Lucy Dacus on feelings, bread, and roses; and 'a country trying to sing itself free' in Celtic Utopia

    Lucy Dacus is now perhaps best known for being one third of boygenius, one of the great sad girl groups of all time. But her latest album, Forever is a Feeling, is bursting with romantic joy. On her way to Australia for a series of shows, she talks to Andy about finding its lush sound, performing it live, and about singing for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral inauguration in New York City. Útóipe Cheilteach (Celtic Utopia), a film by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén, explores what has happened to Irish folk music in both the south and north of the island in the century since independence, how it keeps alive tradition, history and grievance, while also encouraging conciliation and healing. Andy speaks to the film makers.

    54 min

  7. JAN 25

    Ursula Yovich sings NIna Simone and Toshi Maeda on pop-punk and Mach Pelican

    Singer and actor Ursula Yovich joins Andy to talk about Nina Simone. Yovich has been taking on Simone's music for a show at Sydney Festival and she explores what set Simone apart, what part of her story she wanted to tell, the continuing importance of Simone's politics, and the cost to an artist to perform and share themselves on the stage. And Toshi Maeda, from the Australian punk band Mach Pelican, shares the band's first new music in almost two decades, and explains how he got involved in tour promotion - bringing Japanese bands to Australia and vice-versa. Music in this program: Title: Born to DeliveryArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Mach PelicanAlbum: Mach PelicanLabel: Shagpile Title: I Put a Spell on YouArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Jalacy Hawkins, Herb Slotkin; Arranged by Hal MooneyAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: Mercury Title: You Can Have HimArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Irving Berlin; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Nina Simone At Town HallLabel: Spectra Records Title: SinnermanArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Les Baxter, Will Holt; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: Mercury Title: Strange FruitArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Lewis Allen; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: Mercury Title: Four WomenArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Nina SimoneAlbum: Ultimate Nina SimoneLabel: Verve Records Title: Partita no 6 in E Minor - AirArtist: Vikingur OlafssonComposer: Johann Sebastian Bach; Arranged by Vikingur OlafssonAlbum: Opus 109Label: Deutsche Grammophon Title: Dance In ChicagoArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Mach PelicanAlbum: Mach PelicanLabel: Shagpile Title: Remember ItArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Toshi MaedaAlbum: A Secret SessionLabel: Cheersquad Records & Tapes Title: Just Another DayArtist: DYGLComposer: DYGLAlbum: Who's In The HouseLabel: Easy Enough The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Technical production by Mickey Grossman

    55 min

  8. JAN 24

    The backbone of Midnight Oil: Rob Hirst (1955 - 2026)

    From a teenage band driving up and down the coast in a station wagon to one of the biggest Australian bands of all time, Midnight Oil survived on the backbone of drummer, founding member, and songwriter Rob Hirst. Hirst, who has died at the age of 70, was a frequent guest on The Music Show, both as an Oil and with his blues band the Backsliders, and we remember him with a selection of appearances, including his demonstration of the musical washboard. And Pinchgut Opera remembers three great opera performers with a new release of the 2019 production of Vivaldi's Farnace. Featuring stunning performances by Taryn Fiebig (1972-2021), Max Riebl (1991-2022), and Jacqueline Dark (1967-2023), it's a vivid record of the production in its own right, but also a memorial to the memories of three artists gone too soon. Pinchgut artistic director and conductor Erin Helyard joins Andy to listen to their voices.  Music heard in the program: Title: Beds Are BurningComposer: Hirst, Rob; Moginie, Jim; Garrett, PeterArtist: Midnight OilAlbum: Diesel and DustLabel: Columbia Title: Feeling BlueComposer: John FogertyArtist: BackslidersAlbum: Starvation BoxLabel: Fuse Music Title: US ForcesComposer: Hirst, Rob; Moginie, Jim; Garrett, Peter, Rotsey, Martin, Gifford, PeterArtist: Midnight OilAlbum: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1Label: Columbia Title: Sinfonia. Allegro (1)Composer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Taryn Fiebig, Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut Live Title: Tito Manlio, RV 738, Act II Scene 18: Aria. Fra le procelleComposer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Max Riebl (Gilade), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut Live Title: Farnace Act III Scene 1: Aria: Non trova mai riposo Composer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Jacqueline Dark (Berenice), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut Live Title: Ottone in villa, RV 729, Act II Scene 6: Aria. Leggi almeno, tiranna infedeleComposer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Taryn Fiebig (Selinda), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut Live Title: Don't Let Me Be MisunderstoodComposer: Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott, Sol MarcusArtist: Nina SimoneAlbum: Broadway-Blues-BalladsLabel: Philips The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.  Technical production by Micky Grossman.

    55 min
See All (946)

Hosts & Guests

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

All kinds of music and all kinds of musicians in conversation with Andrew Ford.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    946
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Music Show

More From ABC Podcasts

You Might Also Like