If I Fell Backward, Someone Would Catch Me — with Mama Kin Spender

If I Fell Backward, Someone Would Catch Me — with Mama Kin Spender

"Our job as songwriters is not to ask people to feel better — it's to get better at feeling." — Dingo Spender, Mama Kin Spender Mama Kin Spender are Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender — a duo flung to opposite sides of the country who make music by getting on planes, meeting somewhere in the middle, and going into the dark corners together to find the gold. Their 2025 album Promises debuted at number two on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and was nominated for Best Blues and Roots Album at the 2025 ARIA Awards. This episode was recorded live at the 2025–26 Woodford Folk Festival, just hours after Mama Kin Spender played the Amphigrande. It's hosted by Jordan Royal stepping into the chair for Radio Woodfordia. Mama Kin opens with the observation that Woodford is one of those rare festivals that grows artists — the audience buys tickets before the program is released, trusting the programmers and trusting the experience, which means artists can bring their most vulnerable material and know the room will catch them. Dingo describes Woodford as a place where, if you fell backward, someone would catch you and buy you a delicious meal and sing you a song. They talk about Promises — how some of its threads existed as far back as 2019, how the songs were already there, waiting — not for words alone, but for music, rhythm, the body to fully understand itself. How the song that became their North Star felt at first like a sewer main, and turned out to be the truth. They talk about what it means to make music as two people on opposite ends of the country — the limitation as its own kind of grace, the trust that lets you go for things that are harder to reach, the creative producer who holds the space until you get to the hot spot. And they talk about what they're carrying into the new year. Joy — not as a blinder against grief, but as its equal. The realisation that being achingly human is itself an act of resistance. And Dingo's question for whatever comes next: what would the soundtrack to joy sound like? This episode is for: * Anyone who makes things with another person and knows what it costs and what it gives * People who have ever wondered whether it's okay to feel joy when the world is breaking * Woodford devotees — and anyone who wants to understand why this festival means what it means to the artists who keep coming back Dive in to hear about: * Mama Kin on Woodford as a festival that grows artists — and why she wants to play here until she can't anymore * Dingo's first Woodford: four or five gigs in a day, running between stages without putting his saxophone down * The full family Woodford — the year Mama Kin, Dingo, John Butler, and Mama Kin's daughter all played gigs, the same kid who was in nappies backstage at her mum's first festival * The writing house, the songs that were waiting for language, and the track that felt like a sewer main and turned out to be the truth * What a great music producer actually does — and why their creative friendship is the container that lets them go into the dark corners * Joy as practice, grief as fuel, and why being achingly human is the game worth playing Key topics: Mama Kin Spender, Danielle Caruana, Dingo Spender, Promises album, ARIA Awards, Woodford Folk Festival, songwriting, creative collaboration, folk soul, Australian music, joy, grief, community To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/ [https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/] FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au [https://www.harleybreen.com.au] Mama Kin Spender: https://mamakinspender.love [https://mamakinspender.love] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamakinspender [https://www.instagram.com/mamakinspender] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamakinspender [https://www.facebook.com/mamakinspender] Jordan Royal: https://www.instagram.com/j0rdanroyal/ [https://www.instagram.com/j0rdanroyal/] CREDITS: Host: Jordan Royal | Guests: Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender of Mama Kin Spender | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Producers: Amelie Barham, Benjamin 'Tofty' Toft, Georgia Shaw, Madeleine Corcoran | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country Join the Woodfordian Citizens: Perks - - Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating. - Special invites to special events on site at Woodfordia. Super special. - Bonus podcast content - Early early bird access to Woodford Folk Festival tickets - Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen More information at www.woodfordia.org For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/ Credits: Host: Harley Breen Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson Music by: The East Pointers ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Every Meal Needs a Story — with Matt Golinski

"You come home from Woodford with that feeling of, oh, okay, maybe the world's not so bad after all." — Matt Golinski Matt Golinski grew up on a tropical fruit farm in Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast — pawpaws, avocados, mangoes, bananas, and enough tomatoes and zucchinis to know instinctively what a good one looks like. That early understanding of where food comes from and what it takes to grow it has quietly shaped everything he's done since. He spent nine years on Ready Steady Cook, which is how most of Australia came to know him. He'd rather you call him a cook than a celebrity chef. He still cooks every day, he sources almost everything he uses directly from the farmers who grow it, and he'll drive hours into regional Queensland with a car stuffed full of pots and pans to cook a dinner for 300 people in Roma if that's what's needed. He does it alone, he does it happily, and he considers the friends he makes along the way as much a part of the job as the food itself. Harley Breen sits down with Matt for a conversation that covers a lot of ground — the farm, the TV years, the philosophy behind cooking with local producers, the honest economics of running a one-person catering operation in a tough industry, and what it actually means to care about where your food comes from. They also talk about what happens to the kitchen culture when the head chef is a psycho, why there should never be such a thing as a food trend, and the 50,000 pasta machines currently sitting unused in the backs of Australian cupboards. And then there's Woodford. Matt has been coming since the very first festivals at Maleny — living on home brand baked beans and a $20 tent that collapsed on the first night, surviving on very little and loving every minute of it. He's watched the trees grow from saplings to the canopy they are now, including some he helped plant. He lines up on Christmas Eve every year for his favourite camping spot. And he describes driving through the gates as feeling, simply, like coming home. This episode is for: * Anyone who has ever stood in a paddock or a farmers market and felt that something was missing from the way we talk about food * Woodford lifers, and anyone who wants to understand why people keep coming back * People who believe the best meals are the ones with a story behind them Dive in to hear about: * Growing up on a tropical fruit farm in Palmwoods and what it taught Matt about ingredients before he ever set foot in a kitchen * Nine years on Ready Steady Cook, why the term celebrity chef makes him cringe, and what he thinks most celebrity chefs stopped doing years ago * Why Matt refuses to give anyone a menu more than a week out, and why that's actually where the creativity lives * Cooking an 80th birthday dinner sourced entirely from the local producers the birthday boy spent a lifetime championing * The First Offenders, the Woombye Hall, Maleny in the early days, and a $20 tent that didn't survive its first night * Why Matt stopped cooking at Woodford, and what he loves about just being a punter * Watching trees he helped plant grow into the canopy that shades the festival today * Pizza Loca: a thirty-five year love affair, and the most unexpected celebrity endorsement in festival food history Key topics: Matt Golinski, Ready Steady Cook, local produce, farm to table, Sunshine Coast food, Woodford Folk Festival, Maleny Folk Festival, Australian food culture, community, seasonal cooking To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/ [https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/] FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au [https://www.harleybreen.com.au] Matt Golinski: https://mattgolinski.com.au [https://mattgolinski.com.au] https://www.instagram.com/mattgolinski [https://www.instagram.com/mattgolinski] https://www.facebook.com/ChefMattGolinski [https://www.facebook.com/ChefMattGolinski] CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guest: Matt Golinski | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Bree Hickson-Jamieson| Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country | Recorded November 2025 Join the Woodfordian Citizens: Perks - - Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating. - Special invites to special events on site at Woodfordia. Super special. - Bonus podcast content - Early early bird access to Woodford Folk Festival tickets - Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen More information at www.woodfordia.org For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/ Credits: Host: Harley Breen Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson Music by: The East Pointers ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Never Give Up — with Shannon Molloy

A note before you listen Radio Woodfordia reaches listeners around the world, and this episode includes discussion of bullying and suicide. Wherever you are, support is available. Australia Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7) | https://www.lifeline.org.au [https://www.lifeline.org.au] QLife (LGBTQI+ peer support): 1800 184 527 (3pm–9pm daily) | https://www.qlife.org.au [https://www.qlife.org.au] United States 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (24/7) | https://www.988lifeline.org [https://www.988lifeline.org] The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth): 1-866-488-7386 (24/7) | https://www.thetrevorproject.org [https://www.thetrevorproject.org] United Kingdom Samaritans: 116 123 (24/7) | https://www.samaritans.org [https://www.samaritans.org] Switchboard (LGBTQ+): 0300 330 0630 (10am–10pm daily) | https://switchboard.lgbt [https://switchboard.lgbt] International https://www.befrienders.org [https://www.befrienders.org] — connects to crisis support services worldwide "I'm looking for hope in lots of places." — Shannon Molloy Shannon Molloy started his first neighbourhood newspaper at age six — the Arthur Street Chronicle, covering the price of ham at Christmas and local goings-on. By 14 he was writing for online magazines from his bedroom in regional Queensland, using words the way some kids used escape routes. He needed one. Shannon is an award-winning journalist and the bestselling author of Fourteen — a memoir about growing up gay at an all-boys NRL-mad Catholic school in Yeppoon, central Queensland, in the year 2000. The book began as a single opinion piece about the Safe Schools debate that generated thousands of responses from people who recognised themselves in his story. It became a bestseller, was longlisted for an ABIA Award, and was adapted into a sell-out stage production that went on a national tour after what was meant to be a one-off season at Brisbane Festival. Harley Breen sits down with Shannon for a conversation that moves between the personal and the political with the ease of someone who has spent decades doing both. They talk about the fatigue of journalism in the age of relentless bad news and how Shannon has found an antidote in writing about hope and resilience. About the year that shaped everything — the violence, the isolation, the writing as refuge, and the small community of people, including a purple-haired youth worker in Yeppoon who insisted on drum circles, who made survival possible. About whether "it gets better" still holds as a message in a world that sometimes feels like it's moving backwards. And about men — where they're finding community now, why that matters, and what Shannon thinks is missing. This episode is for: * Anyone who has ever used creativity as a way to survive something * People who believe that small acts of kindness have more power than we know * Anyone thinking about what it means to build genuine community for men and boys in 2025 Dive in to hear about: * The flea market typewriter Shannon's mum brought home when he was five — and how it became the most important object in his life * Growing up gay at an all-boys Catholic school in Yeppoon, and the writing that got him through * The Safe Schools opinion piece that generated thousands of responses and planted the seed for Fourteen * Why Shannon thinks "it gets better" needs a more honest update — and what he'd say instead Key topics: Shannon Molloy, Fourteen, memoir, LGBTQ+ Australia, journalism, men's health, community, hope, resilience, Queensland, bullying, Safe Schools, coming of age To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/ [https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/] FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au [https://www.harleybreen.com.au] Shannon Molloy: https://www.shannonmolloy.com.au [https://www.shannonmolloy.com.au] Fourteen and You Made Me This Way are available wherever books are sold. CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guest: Shannon Molloy | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country | Recorded November 2025 Join the Woodfordian Citizens: Perks - - Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating. - Special invites to special events on site at Woodfordia. Super special. - Bonus podcast content - Early early bird access to Woodford Folk Festival tickets - Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen More information at www.woodfordia.org For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/ Credits: Host: Harley Breen Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson Music by: The East Pointers ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Born on a School Oval — with Jacko and Lewy of Beddy Rays

"You just got to grab it and go for it in that moment." — Jackson Van Issum, Beddy Rays Beddy Rays are four best mates from Redland Bay, Queensland who have been inseparable since they met on a school oval at age six. Their debut album hit #1 on the ARIA Vinyl chart and #2 on the Australian Albums chart. They've appeared in the triple j Hottest 100 multiple times. They won the Rock Award at the 2024 Queensland Music Awards. And they play like a band who never forgot why they started. Harley Breen sits down with vocalist Jacko (Jackson Van Issum) and lead guitarist Lewy (Lewis McKenna) on the afternoon of their first-ever Woodford Folk Festival performance — a headline slot at the Amphigrande, the festival's biggest stage — to talk about how they got here. The conversation covers the full origin story: four primary school kids bonding over Green Day and The Offspring on a school oval, eventually picking up instruments because someone had to play the drums and their mate Benny turned out to be frighteningly good at Guitar Hero. The house party at Jacko's place while his parents were away that became their first gig. The years of playing venues around Fortitude Valley without a manager, without a plan, and without quite understanding how the music industry worked — until they got one and realised how much they'd been figuring out the hard way. They also talk about the creative process — how Jacko writes from the centre of the song outward, why he tries to finish an idea the moment it arrives, and what it feels like to sit down to write and think: have I forgotten how to do this? (He hasn't. Neither has Harley.) And they talk about what it means to play a folk festival when your sound is breezy coastal punk rock — and why, once you understand that folk is the precursor to punk, to hip hop, to protest music, it makes complete sense. This episode is for: * Anyone who has ever started something with their childhood mates and just kept going * Fans of honest songwriting and bands who mean every word they play * People who think folk and punk have nothing in common — this conversation might change your mind * Dive in to hear about: * The school oval, the Green Day phase, and how four kids from Redland Bay became a band * Learning drums via Guitar Hero on expert mode — and why it actually worked * The house party that became their first gig (and the rum cans left up the side of the house) * Five years without a manager, and what they learned when they finally got one * How Jacko writes songs — and why finishing an idea in the moment is everything * Playing the Amphigrande on their very first Woodford Folk Festival appearance * Why folk music is the natural home of storytellers — whatever their genre * Key topics: Beddy Rays, Jacko Van Issum, Lewy McKenna, Queensland punk, Australian indie rock, Woodford Folk Festival, songwriting, coastal punk rock, music origin stories, Australian music To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/ [https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/] FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au [https://www.harleybreen.com.au] Beddy Rays: https://linktr.ee/beddyrays [https://linktr.ee/beddyrays] CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guests: Jackson Van Issum and Lewis McKenna of Beddy Rays | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Georgia Shaw, Amelie Barham, Benjamin 'Tofty' Toft | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Sound Editing: Kieron Atkinson | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country | Recorded December 2025 Join the Woodfordian Citizens: Perks - - Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating. - Special invites to special events on site at Woodfordia. Super special. - Bonus podcast content - Early early bird access to Woodford Folk Festival tickets - Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen More information at www.woodfordia.org For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/ Credits: Host: Harley Breen Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson Music by: The East Pointers ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

A Flower Growing Out of a Compost Heap — with Charlie Mgee

"A song is sort of like a flower coming out of a compost heap." — Charlie Mgee, Formidable Vegetable Charlie Mgee once turned down $120,000 a year cutting carrots for a fossil fuel company. His finger wouldn't send the email. Instead, he took $2,000 and spent a year volunteering at festivals around the country — ending up at Woodford, where the seed of Formidable Vegetable was planted in a permaculture talk at the Greenhouse. More than 20 years later, he's built a straw house in Denmark, WA with 40 friends. For a while, he could buy a croissant from the local bakery made from the same wheat crop as his walls. He's played Glastonbury five times, quit flying for seven years, and written a viral song from a hotel room in Slovakia that got shared by Reggie Watts and contributed — he'll take it — to a wobble in a certain streaming giant's share price.. Harley Breen sits down with Charlie for a conversation that covers an almost unreasonable amount of ground. They talk about what permaculture actually is once you get past the composting dunny of Charlie's childhood and into the systems thinking, the indigenous knowledge frameworks, and the radical idea that self-sufficiency is a myth — community is the point. About the impossible balance of being a touring musician who believes in living locally. About a major streaming platform investing artist royalties in AI killer drone technology, and the song Charlie wrote about it in a hotel room in Slovakia. About what it means to be a Luddite in 2025 as an act of resistance. And about active hope — the Joanna Macy framework that keeps Charlie going on the days when nihilism starts winning. Also: garden snails purged with flour, eaten like salami bites, and treated as pets first. You've been warned. This episode is for: * Anyone who has ever wondered if the small ethical choices they make actually add up to anything * People who believe music can change the world — and want to hear from someone who has spent 20 years testing that theory * Anyone who has looked at the state of the world and needed someone to give them a framework for not losing their mind Dive in to hear about: * The $120,000 fossil fuel job Charlie's finger wouldn't let him accept — and the year of festival volunteering that followed * How a permaculture talk at Woodford's Greenhouse stage became the origin story of Formidable Vegetable * The viral song recorded in a hotel room in Slovakia, Reggie Watts, and what it means to chip away at a giant * Why Charlie quit flying for seven years, what it cost him, and why he started again * Active hope — Joanna Macy's framework for staying functional in the face of the world's problems * Why AI music is the next frontier and Charlie's plan to troll it back * Key topics: Formidable Vegetable, Charlie Mgee, permaculture, regenerative living, music activism, Woodford Folk Festival, sustainable building, Glastonbury, AI music, active hope To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/ [https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/] FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au [https://www.harleybreen.com.au] Formidable Vegetable: Socials: https://www.instagram.com/formidableveg/ [https://www.instagram.com/formidableveg/] https://www.instagram.com/not_just_charlie [https://www.instagram.com/not_just_charlie] Web: https://formidablevegetable.com.au/ [https://formidablevegetable.com.au/] https://formidablevegetable.bandcamp.com/ [https://formidablevegetable.bandcamp.com/]  Joanna Macy and the Work That Reconnects: https://workthatreconnects.org [https://workthatreconnects.org] CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guest: Charlie Mgee of Formidable Vegetable | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Georgia Shaw, Amelie Barham, Benjamin 'Tofty' Toft | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country Recorded December 2025 #RadioWoodfordia #FormidableVegetable #CharlieMgee #HarleyBreen #WoodfordFolkFestival #Woodfordia #Permaculture #Sustainability #MusicActivism #AIMusic #RegenerativeLiving #ActiveHope #Podcast #LiveMusic Join the Woodfordian Citizens: Perks - - Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating. - Special invites to special events on site at Woodfordia. Super special. - Bonus podcast content - Early early bird access to Woodford Folk Festival tickets - Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen More information at www.woodfordia.org For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/ Credits: Host: Harley Breen Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson Music by: The East Pointers ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.