BIOGRAPHY / PRESS / MEDIA
BIOGRAPHY
3 x CMAA ‘Golden Guitar’, 2 x Australian Folk Music and Music Victoria Award winners, The Weeping Willows (Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth) are a couple of old souls, steeped in Bluegrass tradition and draped in Gothic Americana imagery. They regale their audiences with stories of sunshine and romance, God and The Devil, murder and decay. Real music.
2017-2023 saw The Weeping Willows nominated for 14 x CMAA ‘Golden Guitar’ awards, 7 x Australian Folk Music Awards (AFMAs), 4 x Country Music Channel (CMC) awards, 2 x Live Act of the Year (Country) in the National Live Music Awards (NLMAs), performing an Official Showcase at AmericanaFest (USA) and appearing at Folk Alliance International (USA), Maverick Festival (UK), Port Fairy Folk Festival, National Folk Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival and the Australian Americana Music Honours. In recent years they have supported Lukas Nelson & POTR (USA), Hayes Carll (USA), Iris DeMent (USA), Eilen Jewell (USA) and Willie Watson (USA) and completed national and international tours in support of their three LPs, including sophomore album, Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’, which received four-star reviews in Rolling Stone, The Australian and The Music. A Weeping Willows performance, whether live on location or caught on tape will always delight.
PRESS / QUOTES
★★★★ “Australian alt. country at its near-finest...” / “Australian Gothic-Country is in good hands.” Rolling Stone
★★★★ “What's not to love? The velvety allure of vocal harmony, Bluegrassy instrumentation drizzled like honey, engaging Gothic narratives that both worry and warm. In the tradition of Johnny and June, Gillian and Dave, the Melbourne-based couple captivate the listener as a fine-tuned unit...” Rhythms Magazine
★★★★ “…right up there with the finest Americana music you'll hear this year...” The Music
★★★★ “The oppressive weight and consequences of living and loving are laid bare with a surgeon’s precision in 10 songs filled with power and beauty. They sound like they could have been written anytime in the past century.” The Australian
“…a mature, courageous and beguiling experience.” No Depression (USA)
“…stunning acoustic guitar work, heavenly harmonies, and a haunting melody rooted in American gothic.” Pop Matters (USA)
“…performed with brilliance & expressiveness.” Americana Highways (USA)
“This is the best of acoustic music, whether it be Folk or Country, Indie-Roots or Blues. Their simple instrumentation, heavy harmonies, and overall gothic vibe is a full and welcome Roots-music package.” The Alternate Root (USA)
“What makes The Weeping Willows sound quite distinctive is their impressive dual vocal lines that start to weave from the opening ‘House of Sin’ to the closing ‘North Wind’ ...they are on the way to making some serious waves in Americana circles with ‘You Reap What You Sow’.” AmericanaUK
“The Weeping Willows are Laura Coates, a vocalist of outstanding ability – her voice is utterly enchanting – and Andrew Wrigglesworth, who plays guitar and ganjo in a way that you’ll have seldom heard before and contributes to some of the sweetest, most spine-tinglingly awesome vocal harmonies that you’ll ever hear – in this world or probably even the next...” At The Barrier (UK)
“Australia's The Weeping Willows are doing Americana as good as any American band out these days.” / “a rich, deep feel that's unlike anything else out there as of late.” If It’s Too Loud (USA)
“It's engaging, timeless and safely in the hands of the core pieces - namely the all round musical wizardry of Andrew Wrigglesworth and the melting vocals of Laura Coates. Together they skilfully deliver sumptuous harmonies and pay due homage to the traditional sound of bluegrass and old time roots... Andrew and Laura have framed a sound and delivered a folk/Americana album as strong as you are likely to hear all year.” Three Chords and the Truth (UK)
“The Weeping Willows have crafted a unique and remarkable sound over the last decade, and their exquisite vocal harmonies and powerful lyrics are at their absolute best on this stunning album. This album is beautiful, moving, superbly produced and world class in both content and style. Watch this duo take the world by storm in the years to come.” Country Music Capital News Magazine
“What makes them so special is that they take you all the way back to the heyday of the sixties folk revival. The extremely precise, almost stately harmony vocals of Andrew Wigglesworth and Laura Coates instantly evoke memories of legendary acts like The Weavers and The Seekers… They take that classic sound but add an almost ethereal dimension…” Slim Chance Is Back (NLD)
“Attention fans of the albums of Robert Plant & Allison Krauss! With the third album by the Australian duo The Weeping Willows you have an album that is of the same high quality as the Plant/Krauss duo. Equally dark, melancholy, tender and beautiful...” Bluestown Music (NLD)
“…their voices work together in a way that seems pre-tape, let alone pre-digital, and offer a taste of the rustic without having to strain for effect.” Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) / The Age - Melbourne
“This is the work of extraordinarily talented musicians, sound technicians and - potentially - divine intervention.” Cat Woods
“...timeless arrangements spanning folk, hillbilly and classic country sounds. It's fair to say The Weeping Willows are to Melbourne what Dave Rawlings & Gillian Welch are to Nashville.” Country Update Magazine
“…they stir the sounds of melody and melancholia through the beguiling beauty and serene sensitivity that have been their calling card since the very beginning…they've made an album that underscores those successes, courtesy of a dozen songs flush with sublime sensitivity and, perhaps equally importantly, purpose and precision.” Lee Zimmerman for Goldmine Magazine (USA)
“They're like a Melbourne version of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and the playing is exquisite...” Stack (JB Hi-Fi) Magazine
“A Bluegrass/Americana/Gothic style duo, who mesmerise the audience from the first note. Wrigglesworth’s guitar playing is out of this world and Coates’ vocals are rich, warm, powerful and strong, and their harmonies are tight and sublime... one class act.” Adelaide Music Mag
“Throughout the show the enthusiasm, gratitude and radiant vibes lift The Weeping Willows on the same lofty plateau as their recorded material. A refreshing persona coupled with exceptional musicianship and finely crafted vocals made this evening a resounding success.” Three Chords and the Truth (UK)
“The Weeping Willows have delivered a world class Americana album ingrained with integrity and a good tip of the hat to the traditional elements of the genre. If this is the current quality of Americana music in Australia, we’re in good hands...” Americana Australia
“This is music that mixes songwriting, storytelling, virtuosic playing and the simple delight of two perfectly matched voices singing in harmony to excellent effect.” Post to Wire
“A stunning evolution for a band who doesn’t take their musical craft lightly, an impressive masterclass in songwriting and storytelling… an album worth spending some time with…” Tone Deaf
“They take us back to what is beautiful about traditional country music: tender harmonies, wonderful guitar picking and lovingly crafted songs.” Unpaved
“The Weeping Willows have long ranked among Australia’s premier songwriters, lighting a path through the cloistered under-canopy and dim-lighted thickets of the soul.” The Sound Cafe
“…getting attention over here following their appearance at Maverick... An album that gets even better the more you listen to it.” Fatea Magazine (UK)
“For a duo that seems immersed in matters rather somber and dark – murder, foul deeds and decomposition, The Weeping Willows have been surrounding themselves with glitter lately – Award wins and nominations a-plenty in not just one genre but many... Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth have, with their highly-anticipated third studio outing, You Reap What You Sow, undoubtedly upped the ante, blending multiple genres into their singular artistic vision. Andy is one of the finest guitarists in Australia (e.g. “Lonesome Now I’m Gone”) and the harmonies and solo vocals from both are a treat. A masterful and entrancing release.” Listening Through The Lens
awards & nominations
2023: Folk Alliance Australia 'Australian Folk Music Award' winners for Artists of the Year - Group/Duo/Ensemble and nominees in the People’s Choice Awards.
2023: 4 x CMAA (Golden Guitar) finalists for Alternative Country Album of the Year, Group or Duo of the Year and Bluegrass Recording of the Year (x 2).
2022: GRAMMY® Ballot - Best Folk Album for You Reap What You Sow.
2022: CMAA (Golden Guitar) winners for Instrumental of the Year and Bluegrass Recording of the Year.
2022: Music Victoria Award nominees for Best Country Work.
2022: Folk Alliance Australia 'Australian Folk Music Award' nominees for Contemporary Folk Music Album of the Year, Artists of the Year - Group/Duo/Ensemble and in the People’s Choice Awards.
2021: CMAA (Golden Guitar) winners for Instrumental of the Year and finalists (x 2) for Bluegrass Recording of the Year.
2021: Music Victoria Award winners for Country Act of the Year.
2021: Folk Alliance Australia 'Australian Folk Music Award' winners for Artists of the Year - Group/Duo/Ensemble and nominees in the People’s Choice Awards.
2021/2019/2017: Shortlisted in the APRA Professional Development Awards (PDAs).
2020: Tamworth Songwriting Association (TSA) Award winners for Country Blues Song of the Year.
2019: NLMA (National Live Music Award) finalists for Country Act of the Year.
2019: CMAA 'Golden Guitar' finalists for Bluegrass Recording of the Year.
2019: Tamworth Songwriting Association (TSA) Award winners for Country Ballad of the Year with Allan Caswell.
2019: Australian Independent Country Music (The Southern Stars) Awards finalists for Australian Independent Group/Duo of the Year.
2018/2019: Indie Country Music Australia (ICMA) Award nominees for Most Popular Independent Country Duo.
2018: Australian Independent Country Music (The Southern Stars) Awards finalists for APRA AMCOS Australian Independent Country Music Single of the Year.
2018: Country Music Channel (CMC) Award nominees for Group or Duo of the Year.
2017: 4 x CMAA (Golden Guitar) finalists for Alternative Country Album of the Year, Country Music Capital News Group or Duo of the Year, Bluegrass Recording of the Year & QantasLink New Talent of the Year.
2017: Tamworth Songwriting Association Award winners for Country Song of the Year and Contemporary Ballad of the Year for 'Golden Days', co-written with Allan Caswell.
2017: Country Music Channel (CMC) Award finalists for New Oz Artist of the Year and nominees for Group or Duo of the Year.
2017: ARMA (Australian Roots Music Awards) finalists for the Anthony Lycenko Best Album Album of the Year.
2017/2018: 3 x Indie Country Music Australia (ICMA) nominations for Most Popular Independent Country Duo, Most Popular Independent Australian Country Video (with Allan Caswell) and Most Popular Independent Country Album.
2016: Country Music Channel (CMC) Award nominees for New Oz Artist of the Year.
‘BEST OF’ INCLUSIONs
Rhythms Magazine ‘Readers’ Poll’ 2022
Nick Charles & Chris Lambie - Rhythms Magazine
Beccy Cole - Saturday Night Country on ABC Country
CountryTown - 10 Best Country Music Albums Of 2022
The Real Easy Ed: Americana and Roots Music Daily (USA)
The Back Porch on 88.1 WVPE Radio (USA)
Early Morning on KVMR 89.5FM & 105.1FM (USA)
Simply Country on Ridge Radio (UK)
Bluegrass Signal on KALW (USA)
The International Americana Music Show (USA)
5 Feet High and Rising - PBS FM
In The Jailhouse Tonight - Sunbury Radio
Bob Shilling - 2BOB Radio
Samuel J. Fell - Rolling Stone & Rhythms Magazine
Gareth Hipwell - Country Update Magazine
Gareth Evans - Timber and Steel
Chris Familton - Post To Wire
James Whitmore - The Conversation
The Outpost - 2SER Radio
Southern FM
Basement Discs Record Store
RECENT & UPCOMING FESTIVALS
2024:
Folk Alliance International - Official Showcase, USA
Nannup Music Festival, AU
2023/2022:
Tamworth Country Music Festival, AU
National Folk Festival, AU
CresFest, AU
Yackandandah Folk Festival, AU
Boolarra Folk Festival, AU
Tamar Valley Folk Festival, AU
Maverick Festival, UK
Beardy Folk Festival, UK
Knutsford Music Festival, UK
Sydney Folk Festival, AU
Gympie Music Muster, AU
Wingham Music Festival, AU
Groundwater Country Music Festival, AU
Molesworth Bluegrass & Country Music Festival, AU
Mountaingrass, AU
Healesville Music Festival, AU
Maldon Folk Festival, AU
Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival, AU
Patchewollock Music Festival, AU
Blue Mountains Music Festival, AU
Deni Ute Muster, AU
AMERICANAFEST - Official Showcase, USA
Folk Alliance International - Spotlight Showcase Week, Online
Port Fairy Folk Festival, AU
OFFICIAL MUSIC Videos
Approved Promotional Images
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CONTACT
Laura Coates: theweepingwillowsmusic@gmail.com