It was great for Dougie and Jenny to be back on tour in Australia.

These photos and news snippets were added during their stay and once bak home... it would be great if those who have enjoyed
the Australian concerts could add a wee message to the Guestbook...or send in photos if you have them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dougie on Australian Radio!
Saturday 13th December- Dougie was interviewd by Andrew Ford and performed 2 songs live on the prestigious programme
The Music Show on ABC Radio National.

The Spieltent, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 13th December pm- Dougie performed on a wet and windy night to a great crowd in the amazing surrounds of the Spiegeltent,
in the centre of Melbourne...the first of his many Australian concert and festival appearances.

Canberra ACT
Monday 16th December- Dougie performed live on ABC Canberra in the afternoon then enjoyed the company of enthusiasts for his
music from near and far at The Folkus Club on the outskirts of the city. As usual a great concert where we made some new friends and
re-connected with some old acquaintances!

Katoomba NSW
Wednesday 17th December-The Clarendon is a really lovely venue in The Blue Mountains...one of the very beautiful parts of Australia.
The night was full of some of the best singing possible...and lots of fun and heightened emotion!
We'll definitely return again to this spot!!

Sydney NSW
Thursday 18th December- The last concert before Christmas...and we're needing a break after 3 concerts in a row and many, many
miles of travelling! The concert in The Factory Theatre was a big success and marked Dougie's return to Sydney after almost 20 years!
The audience all seemed to remember the words of old classics and enjoyed the new songs too...

Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland
December 27th 2008- January 1st 2009- A most amazing festival with crowds of over 140,000 during the 6 days.
Amidst overwhelming heat (one day reaching 44 degrees with 85% humidity!) and loads of great musicians, speakers and special event,
Dougie attracted capacity crowds for his 4 concerts and was one of the most talked about performers at this prestigious festival.
He is also rumoured to have sold the most CDs of any performer there! 

The first concert was on the CONCERT STAGE to a capacity crowd of around 2,000 people at 11.45 in the morning. Dougie couldn't
believe there would so many in an audience at that time of day!...and what an audience. They just couldn't get enough of his songs...

The jacket and shirt had to go and pretty quickly and Dougie realised the need for an electric fan on stage! 

The second performance was at a more intimate venue, The Muse Stage. The heat continued to soar and Dougie was forced to make the shift
from jeans to shorts!...first time in 10 years he joked!...note the fan on stage as well!!

The next day it was back to the Concert Stage where the full concert was filmed for the Woodford Festival Archive. The very necessary
hat has been added, the fan has moved centre stage and the audience had grown to over capacity and sang wonderfully.
 

After an amazing Aussie New Years Eve celebration, with a super session with lots of musicians that lasted til about 6am!, January 1st
was a busy day with Dougie's last concert at The Muse Stage and the inclusion of his song "This Love Will Carry" with a 200 voice
choir at the finale of the whole festival, The Fire Event...a wonderful combination of dance, lights and lanterns, music and magic
to an audience of over 20,000 in a natural amphitheatre. Photos were difficult to get...but here's a wee taste of the spectacle.

   

Apparently after his final concert there was such a demand for Dougie CDs at the merchandise tent (there really was a bit of a frenzy!)
that a new term "Dougie-rage" was coined by some of the festival organisers (phographed below with Dougie)
...beside is a detail of survivor clothing!

Here' a couple of photos taken during the Woodford Festival and sent by new good friend (and wonderful fiddler!) JP Sweeney.

Eumundi, Queensland
January 3rd 2009- After recovering for a day from the whole wonderful Woodford Festival experience Dougie performed
to a great audience in Joe's Waterhole, Eumundi (a well respected venue where Luka Bloom, Ruthie Foster, Michelle Shocked and
Lounden Wainwright 3rd have all played...).

Cygnet Festival, Tasmania
January 9th to 11th 2009- Following a few days relaxing on the Queensland coast and in the city of Brisbane, Dougie and Jenny flew
via Melbourne to the island of Tasmania and the small town of Cygnet. During the 3 days of the festival Dougie performed 3 times in
concert, made lots of new musical friends and was, many said, the hit of the festival!
On Friday night he performed to a full audience

On Saturday morning he rehearsed with the Australian band Sunas on the verandah of his B & B. Then at the afternoon concert they
performed a couple of songs together.

They finished the set with Dougie introducing his brand new 'tuneable' digeridoo which he'd bought from the maker in Queensland.

The next morning he met up with a very young band from Cygnet called Daideo and the Blue Mosquitoes. They were already
performing a couple of Dougie's songs in their set and got together with Dougie on the verandah then joined him on stage at
the end of his final concert to sing 'This Love Will Carry". it was a great end to the Cygnet Festival experience!

The Republic, Hobart, Tasmania
January 12th 2009- The following night Dougie performed in Hobart to a very full and enthusiastic audience at The Republic,
which is one of the main venues for folk and acoustic music in Hobart.

Colo River, NSW
January 16th 2009- A flight back to Sydney and an hour's drive brought Dougie and Jenny to the beautiful Colo River where
they were fully involved in the preparations for The Colo Concert at Ararat Lodge. It had been sold out for weeks and there was
a definite excitement in the air as Dougie got together with local musicans Frozen who were also performing at the concert.
It was great to meet up with Barbara and Peter McLaren and of course with Jane and Freya!

The whole event was wonderful...the meal was delicious, the lodge had a great atmosphere and the concert was musically brilliant!
Frozen opened the concert with a lovely set, then after a wee break Dougie sang some songs on his own, then was joined by
Blake Morrison on guitar for a spine tingling "Singing Land" then at the end of the concert all of Frozen joined Dougie for
"This Love Will Carry". A night to remember which I'm sure will happen again!

Lizotte's, Kincumber, NSW
January 18th 2009- Dougie's final concert was on the afternoon before his flight back to Scotland. A capacity house once again-
a great audience who loved the songs and joined in wonderfully on the choruses. A special bonus was that Blake Morrison and
Jane McLaren travelled to Kincumber for the last concert and Blake joined Dougie for a couple of songs.

Later that night, after a suitable 'tour wrap' party, Jenny and Dougie said goodbye to the Aussie ocean...it had been a wonderful tour!