Piano Fixed the Maths. Then She Played Woodford — Grace Alexandra

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.

Piano Fixed the Maths. Then She Played Woodford — Grace Alexandra

"I started doing piano lessons and I started getting better at maths." — Grace Alexandra Grace Alexandra came to Woodford on a pay-it-forward ticket. The next year, she was performing at it. Grace is 16, Darug, and already the kind of artist who makes you lean forward. She first came to Woodfordia as a child, dancing with the Jinibara Dance Troupe in 2018. She came back in 2024 as a punter — watched Jaguar Jones, Yothu Yindi, and Caravana Sun — and left knowing she wanted to be on those stages. Twelve months later, here she is. Harley Breen sits down with Grace — and, delightfully, her mum, just off camera — for a conversation that's warm, unhurried, and quietly remarkable. They talk about the unlikely chain of events that led Grace to music: failing maths, choosing piano lessons over a tutor, and discovering, almost by accident, that she could sing. About growing up Darug , travelling to Sydney to connect with the Gadigal community, and writing a song about a place that moved her so deeply at age ten that she couldn't not write about it. About what it means to be a young Indigenous artist right now, and why the community of peers she needs doesn't quite exist yet in her area. What she's already done is not nothing. One of 15 First Nations artists nationally, Grace was selected for the First Sounds National Album, funded by AMRAP. She's played Bluesfest and the Gympie Muster. And now, Woodford. This episode is for: * Anyone who believes the best origin stories start with failing maths * People who want to hear what the next generation of Indigenous Australian music sounds like * Anyone who needs a reminder of what it looks like when a young person is completely, quietly sure of themselves Dive in to hear about: * How failing maths led Grace to piano lessons — and how piano lessons fixed the maths * The pay-it-forward ticket that brought her to Woodford as a punter, and the moment she decided she'd be back as a performer * The place Grace visited at age ten that became the heart of an original song * Being selected for the First Sounds National Album out of 15 First Nations artists nationally * Why there's a gap in peer community for young musicians in her area — and why Woodford helps fill it Key topics: Grace Alexandra, First Nations music, young Australian artists, Woodford Folk Festival, singer-songwriter, Indigenous storytelling, Sunshine Coast music scene 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] Grace Alexandra: https://linktr.ee/grace_alexandra_music [https://linktr.ee/grace_alexandra_music]  CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guest: Grace Alexandra | 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 #GraceAlexandra #HarleyBreen #WoodfordFolkFestival #Woodfordia #FirstNationsMusic #IndigenousAustralian #SingerSongwriter #AustralianMusic #NewMusic #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.

A Cornucopia of Inspiration — with Large Mirage

"It's a concentrated fantasy, this whole place." — Large Mirage They'd never been to Woodford Folk Festival before. You wouldn't have known it. AJ, Bailey and Blake of Large Mirage arrived at their first Woodford — first time as a band, first time as human beings — and immediately looked like they belonged. Within five minutes of their first set, the Pineapple Lounge was heaving. The second night was better still. And somehow, between all of it, they still had time to pull up chairs at a campsite bluegrass session and call it a private gig. Harley Breen sits down with three quarters of Large Mirage for a conversation that moves at the pace of one of their extended instrumental jams — warm, a little unpredictable, and genuinely fun. They talk about what psych rock actually means when you're the one playing it, why the genre label is both accurate and completely insufficient, and how AJ ended up in the band after being spotted at a lawn bowls club gig by a man in double denim. They talk about the band name — born from two bandmates both seeing the same thing on an airport tarmac, and a rhyme that only works in an Australian accent. And they talk about what it means to fly to New South Wales on New Year's Eve afternoon to play a show, then fly back to Woodford to play Bluestown stage at 1am. Stretching. Eating well. Drinking water before the set. Rock and roll has changed. This episode is for: * Anyone who has walked into a tent at Woodford not knowing what was playing and ended up having the best time * People who believe the best bands are the ones that can't quite be contained by their own genre label * Anyone who has ever dramatically underestimated how heavy a Hammond organ is * Dive in to hear about: * What psych rock actually sounds like from the inside — extended jams, organ solos, Texas shuffles, and a sound that wears many hats * The lawn bowls club gig, the double denim, and the very random encounter that brought AJ into the band * Why "Large Mirage" only rhymes if you're Australian — and the airport tarmac moment that started it all * The New Year's Eve schedule that has them flying to a Central Coast show and back to a 1am Bluestown set at Woodford * Key topics: Large Mirage, psychedelic rock, Woodford Folk Festival, live music, Australian independent music, Hammond organ, festival culture 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] Large Mirage: https://largemirage.com/ [https://largemirage.com/] https://www.instagram.com/largemirage/ [https://www.instagram.com/largemirage/] https://www.tiktok.com/@largemirage [https://www.tiktok.com/@largemirage]  CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guests: AJ Stanton, Blake Rochester and Bailey Brown of Large Mirage | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington | Producers: Georgia Shaw, Amelie Barham, Benjamin ‘Tofty’ Toft, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country  Recorded December 2025 #RadioWoodfordia #LargeMirage #HarleyBreen #WoodfordFolkFestival #Woodfordia #PsychRock #AustralianMusic #IndieMusic #LiveMusic #FolkFestival #Podcast #RockAndRoll 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.