Radio Woodfordia

“But music is about something much more basic than that. It’s about human connection. It’s about community. It’s this very strong glue that sort of holds us all together.” — Linsey Pollak Harley Breen welcomes back Linsey Pollak, the first ever return guest on Radio Woodfordia. In the first episode Linsey told the story of the treadle lathe he impulse bought in London for 20 pounds, which kept him...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this episode contains the name of a person who has recently died. “I don’t need to dress up because I’m part mermaid.” — Shannon Townsend Harley Breen welcomes Shannon Townsend, the Lady of the Lake. Shannon has been teaching swimming since she was 13, has trained pool lifeguards in Australia and around the world, and now looks after...

“The essence of what it is to be an artist will never die.” — OJ Newcomb Harley Breen sits down with OJ Newcomb, a bassist, band manager, producer, studio co-owner, label founder and music teacher who has seen the music industry from nearly every angle. Oj grew up in a musical family, started on brass, and became a jazz bass player after being pulled into his brother’s scene, which led him to the...

"There is no art that's not constrained and works within boundaries. And within those boundaries, you've still got an absolute infinity of possibilities." — Gavin Ryan Harley Breen sits down with Gavin Ryan, Woodfordia's Artist in Residence and the designer behind the Woodford Folk Festival poster (and other wonderful works) since 2008. Gavin's path to Woodford began almo...

"Well, our whole purpose is to hide the tent." — Irene Visser Harley Breen sits down with Irene Visser — Woodfordia's Venue Decor and Installation Manager, or as she prefers to call it, "the arty farty party." Irene was born in Holland, raised in Canada, and immigrated to Australia thirty years ago in search of adventure, landing first in freezing Launceston before driving to tropical Darwin with...

"I'm conscious of the old adage that it's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." — Professor Ian Lowe Harley Breen sits down with Professor Ian Lowe AO, one of Australia's most respected environmental scientists, for a conversation ranging from dodgy cricket umpiring to the fate of the planet, often in the same breath. Now 83, Ian is Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Soc...

"It's not just about being in a band. It's about community building and getting out there." — Alan Kelly, Barleyshakes Duo Kristin Kelly grew up in Brisbane, heard Martin Hayes play fiddle at the National Folk Festival in Canberra in the early 90s, quit her teaching job, sent a cheque to the other side of the world, and went to his summer school in Miltown Malbay, Ireland. Alan Kelly grew up in Du...

"The real program is how people engage — the decisions they make, and what interrupts their day as they think they're going to go and do that. But instead, they go and do that." — Amanda Jackes This is a special one. In this citizens-only episode, Woodfordia Managing Director and Co-founder Amanda Jackes sits down with Harley Breen to answer questions submitted by you, the Woodfordia community. No...

"Our job as songwriters is not to ask people to feel better — it's to get better at feeling." — Dingo Spender, Mama Kin Spender Mama Kin Spender are Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender — a duo flung to opposite sides of the country who make music by getting on planes, meeting somewhere in the middle, and going into the dark corners together to find the gold. Their 2025 album Promises debuted at num...

"You come home from Woodford with that feeling of, oh, okay, maybe the world's not so bad after all." — Matt Golinski Matt Golinski grew up on a tropical fruit farm in Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast — pawpaws, avocados, mangoes, bananas, and enough tomatoes and zucchinis to know instinctively what a good one looks like. That early understanding of where food comes from and what it takes to grow i...

A note before you listen Radio Woodfordia reaches listeners around the world, and this episode includes discussion of bullying and suicide. Wherever you are, support is available. Australia Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7) | https://www.lifeline.org.au QLife (LGBTQI+ peer support): 1800 184 527 (3pm–9pm daily) | https://www.qlife.org.au United States 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (2...

"You just got to grab it and go for it in that moment." — Jackson Van Issum, Beddy Rays Beddy Rays are four best mates from Redland Bay, Queensland who have been inseparable since they met on a school oval at age six. Their debut album hit #1 on the ARIA Vinyl chart and #2 on the Australian Albums chart. They've appeared in the triple j Hottest 100 multiple times. They won the Rock Award at the 20...

"A song is sort of like a flower coming out of a compost heap." — Charlie Mgee, Formidable Vegetable Charlie Mgee once turned down $120,000 a year cutting carrots for a fossil fuel company. His finger wouldn't send the email. Instead, he took $2,000 and spent a year volunteering at festivals around the country — ending up at Woodford, where the seed of Formidable Vegetable was planted in a permacu...

"I started doing piano lessons and I started getting better at maths." — Grace Alexandra Grace Alexandra came to Woodford on a pay-it-forward ticket. The next year, she was performing at it. Grace is 16, Darug, and already the kind of artist who makes you lean forward. She first came to Woodfordia as a child, dancing with the Jinibara Dance Troupe in 2018. She came back in 2024 as a punter — watch...

"It's a concentrated fantasy, this whole place." — Large Mirage They'd never been to Woodford Folk Festival before. You wouldn't have known it. AJ, Bailey and Blake of Large Mirage arrived at their first Woodford — first time as a band, first time as human beings — and immediately looked like they belonged. Within five minutes of their first set, the Pineapple Lounge was heaving. The second night...

"For us being at Woodford from an early age, seeing so many shows — you walk into a tent and you just start dancing. That's the feeling we try to put into our shows, because we know how great that feels." — Tjaka Geoff, Jake and Felix of Tjaka know exactly what a Woodford crowd feels like. They've been standing in one since they were kids. In 2024, they found out what it looks like from the other...

"The wastewater doesn't lie." You've walked past it a hundred times without knowing it's there. Beneath the stages, the food stalls, and the dusty paths of Woodford Folk Festival runs more than 50 kilometres of sewers — and a treatment system so sophisticated it's now a cover story in American engineering magazines and a blueprint for festivals around the world. Harley Breen sits down with Ben Kel...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners please be aware this episode contains references to a deceased person. "The spirit of the old storytellers and the people who were protesters is not dead. It's alive and well in the next generation." Recorded ahead of his appearance at The Planting Festival in May, this conversation between Harley Breen and Troy Cassar-Daley is exactly the kind of ya...

"It's either your first Woodford or your hundredth Woodford. I think that’s how it works." This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of First Wine of the Day. It's New Year's Day, the final show, and the ironed-on Woodfordians are the only ones left standing. Harley missed the three minutes of silence after “overestimating his New Year’s Eve resilience.” Nikki spent he...

One of the best descriptions of Woodford Folk Festival you'll ever hear comes from a friend experiencing it for the very first time: “Oh my god, it’s utopia.” "I think it is a place that brings out the best in people."-- Kate Miller-Heidke This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of First Wine of the Day. It's New Year's Eve, day five, Harley's voice is nearly gone, a...

"We might not have achieved what we wanted to, but by Jesus we tried." This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of First Wine of the Day. Day four, and Harley Breen and Nikki Britton are running on fumes, festival feeling, and a very good chilled red. They'd already cried before the show started — two men had just got married on the hill, and their friends sang to the...

One of the best reviews of Woodford Folk Festival you'll ever hear comes second-hand, from a new friend named Neil. This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of First Wine of the Day. Day three, and Harley Breen has finally had a shower. With Nikki Britton stranded on the Bruce Highway (again), comedian Oliver Clark steps in as co-host — and promptly gets upstaged by a...

"Every time you visit Woodford you leave a different person." This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of First Wine of the Day . Harley Breen and co-host Nikki Britton open with one of the most quietly beautiful moments Radio Woodfordia has captured — the story of a she-oak walking stick, a stranger's generosity, and a carving made from a sapling found during a wilde...

This episode was recorded live from the Woodford Folk Festival as part of the 'First Wine of the Day' and might just be better to watch on youtube if you can (not while driving please) Harley Breen alongside his cohost Nikki Britton, who arrives fashionably late after spending 12 hours on the Bruce Highway, light up the Piano Bar delighting the crowd with lots of cracking guests. fruity wine and f...

"Why can't we just live at Woodfordia? And why isn't this just how we all live?" In this episode, Harley sits down with Katie Noonan. It's Katie's 30th year at Woodford, and she's just finished her 30th studio album - serendipitous!  Katie's Woodford journey started in 1995 when she won the Woodford band competition (prize: a ticket to next year's festival). That hook worked, and she's been b...