When your father is songwriting legend and “national treasure” Paul Kelly, and your mother is actress and singer Kaarin Fairfax, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that music is going to touch your life in a big way. Such is the case with Kelly siblings Maddy and Memphis Kelly and their band Wishful.
Wishful are making a name for themselves with their vibrant dream-pop sound, that combines eclectic instruments, dreamy harmonies and a healthy dose of sass on the side. The band originally formed after a meeting at Queenscliff music festival, and according to their bio, came together over a mutual love of “Puns and Brunch”. I asked Maddy to explain.. “Haha, We’d been a trio for a little while and thought we had better find a bass player and drummer. Our bass player Caleb is the King of Puns, and the wittiest guy ever and we were cacking ourselves over it, and of course we love Brunch..”
Coming from a musical family seems to have resonated with Maddy, when asked about her influences she replied “Well, both our parents are musicians, and I am also influenced by other musicians that are also siblings like Vika and Linda Bull, Angus and Julia Stone. Siblings seem to stick together.”
I wondered if there were certain pressures or expectations put on the band due to Maddy and sister Memphis’s dads legendary status. Maddy ruminated “No, I wouldn’t say pressure, we play a very different style of music to him. In a way we’re trying to approach the business on our own. Expectations? I’m not sure, but it’s a good thing” And what does dad think about his daughters getting involved in the industry? “Oh yeah he loves it, I think he definitely approves. Sometime’s we’ll play him a new song and take his advice, but often we don’t take his advice!”
Already Wishful have performed at festivals such as Warrandyte Music Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Heart of St Kilda Charity Concert. Their recent EP release – S – has been earning them rave reviews and airplay around the country. The girls will be bringing Wishful to the Tanks Arts Centre’s Women in Song show on Friday the 6th of March. also on the lineup is another daughter of rock royalty – Mahalia Barnes, and local songstress Greta Stanley. I asked Maddy what the Cairns audience can expect from their set at Women In Song and she was quick to enthuse “For the Cairns show we are stripping back to the trio again. We haven’t done that for a while and are excited about playing like that again. It’s a pretty chilled out acoustic set with lots of three part harmonies.”
Tickets are available through Ticketlink
Todd Macalpine
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