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Respected contemporary folk musicians Scott and Louisa Wise and their three daughters Ruth (18), Lucy (17) and Rowena (14) make up this heartwarming family band from Western Australia’s deep Southwest. Written up in the UK’s fRoots Magazine (”a family that plays together really plays together”), the Wises put out a lot of energy with 5 part harmonies, tunes and songs in a diverse range of traditional styles - whatever sounds good to them!
The girls all sing and play a swag of instruments between them - fiddles, ukulele, dulcimer, bass, guitar, harmonica and various percussion instruments. Scott and Louisa add their own voices, guitars, fiddle, and mandolin and dulcimer.
All of the stringed instruments played in the band were made by Scott, a busy and respected professional luthier in Australia and beyond, who has pioneered the use of Western Australian hardwoods in lutherie.
The band’s wide repertoire includes fiddle tunes from Australian, Irish, Scottish, Scandanavian, Basque, French Canadian, Cajun and other regional US and world traditions, and original songs and tunes contributed by everyone in the band.
The family’s solid 5-part harmony singing always elicits a great response, either in unaccompanied song or with well-arranged instrumental backup. Due to Louisa’s American origins and Scott’s involvement in the inimitable Country Blues band The Ten Cent Shooters, the band performs Blues (their “domestic blues” songs always delight an audience), pre-Blues African-American folk songs, Scottish and Appalachian traditional songs, works of contemporary songwriters and original songs reflecting their region of Australia.
The family comes from Margaret River where the forest and ocean combine to make a great atmosphere for music and instrument-making. All of their playing, rehearsing and recording happens at the kitchen table in their big green house beside the forest.
Photos below by Christine Gosfield,.except far left by Tahita Lang.
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