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11:31PM Monday 13 October, 2008 Sunshine Coast weather Mostly cloudy min 18° - max 26°

Fred's really an Original

16 July 2008

Fred Smith is one of Australia’s most remarkable artists. He has spent the last 10 years all over the globe: doing peace work in the war-torn islands of the South Pacific, touring in America and travelling the Australian festival circuit, where he has earned a reputation as a prolific and dynamic songwriter.

Fred is a lyrical and inventive lyricist, with an ear for a melodic hook. He has a perceptive eye for modern life, its foibles and joys, and an ability to express this in song. He presents his material with an engaging humour and a wry smile that has won hearts at all major Australian festivals from the National Folk Festival through to the exclusive Blue Mountains Music Festival.

On Sunday he'll be a headline act at the Peregian Originals in the park behind Peregian Beach Surf Club from 1-4.30pm.

Fred cut his teeth performing comic and satirical ballads in bars and festivals in the late ‘90s.

Next he travelled to work with Peace Monitoring operations in Bougainville, an island province of Papua New Guinea that recently emerged from ten years of bitter civil war.

Fred became something of a celebrity on Bougainville collaborating with local musicians and the Australian Army to record and release 20,000 copies of a cassette of peace songs in the Melanesian pidgin dialect. Fred will perform with Liz Frencham, well-known as the stunning double bass/vocalist of the touring band, Jig Zag.

Marcello (Toothfaeries, Zimbira) is on a roll. He returns to Peregian Originals with his uplifting songs, combining elements of reggae, rock, African, and folk music. The recent popular success of The Toothaeries reunion shows are further evidence of his sustaining appeal.

The funky, soul-injected Massie Smith Band and the awesome instrumental duo, The Express, were both rained out at the last Originals concert. They are both back on the bill, two acts making big waves on the Coast in 2008.

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