\u201cThe response has been much bigger and more enthusiastic than anything I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
And no wonder; it\u2019s a hell of a playlist. The Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Beach Boys, Carole King, The Byrds \u2013 all of them united by the simple fact that the songs emerged from the same place, Laurel Canyon, a mountainous neighbourhood of Los Angeles, in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re playing some of the greatest music of all time in these beautiful venues,\u201d Gawenda says on a sunny afternoon in the Royal Botanic Gardens, which will host a one-off performance on Sunday night. \u201cThe people coming to these shows, it\u2019s often the music that has meant the most to them, in the most important time of their life, in their youth. And I think they\u2019re really transported back to that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Mamas & the Papas in London, 1967 (left to right): Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, Michele Phillips, John Phillips.Credit: Peter Kemp<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a pure exercise in nostalgia, though. These original fans are often bringing their kids, and their grandkids, to share in the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe music is universal, and the people who don\u2019t know it yet and come and discover it are blown away,\u201d says Gawenda. \u201cPeople want to hear this music done live, which is something you just don\u2019t get anymore because most of those artists are not touring or they\u2019re not around anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guiding principles for the show are both loose and rigid: it\u2019s songs from a fairly tight time frame \u2013 \u201cbetween 1966 and 1970\u201d, says Gawenda \u2013 composed and recorded by artists who lived or hung out in the Canyon at the time (the house occupied by Cass Elliot, aka Mama Cass of the Mamas and the Papas, was a particular hub of counter-cultural creativity).<\/p>\n
And they need to fit the vibe, man. That means there\u2019s no place for Frank Zappa or for KISS (Gene Simmons owned a house in the Canyon, and the band members often partied there). But The Doors are OK, even if Gawenda is more focused on the music than the attitude. \u201cI\u2019d like to channel Jim Morrison,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think I can pull that off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first Songs From the Canyon shows were at Chapel off Chapel in 2022, and there\u2019s been a run of shows each year since. Sunday\u2019s concert, though, will be the biggest yet.<\/p>\n
The line-up has been the same throughout, with Gawenda sharing vocal duties with Charm of Finches (sisters Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes), Hannah Cameron, Stephen Grady, Dan Challis and Dan Kelly, with Jules Pascoe on bass and Bree Hartley on drums. This time around, Davey Lane of You Am I is sitting in for Kelly, who is currently on tour with RockWiz.<\/p>\n
The show itself, though, \u201ckeeps evolving\u201d, says Gawenda. \u201cThere\u2019s an almost bottomless well of material.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes, there\u2019s a lovely sense of homecoming in performing this music, written long before they were born.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe grew up listening to lots of The Beach Boys and Carole King,\u201d says Mabel, 25. \u201cThey were the two main artists out of this body of music, just singing along a lot at home when we were kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe harmonies of The Beach Boys definitely come into our performances and were super inspiring for us,\u201d says Ivy, 22.<\/p>\n
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Taking it all in their stride: Charm of Finches performed their first show at the Gardens when the sisters were just 11 and 14. Credit: Simon Schluter<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a homecoming aspect to performing in the Gardens, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did our first gig here,\u201d says Mabel. \u201cIt was with a guy called Michael Johnson, a harp player. We were 11 and 14 at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Music runs in the family for these sisters. \u201cOur mum was in bands in the \u201990s,\u201d says Ivy. \u201cShe was in an electronic band, quite different to what we do, called Femo. She used to stand on her head and sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There won\u2019t be any such theatrics on Sunday, though Gawenda does promise plenty of yarning in amongst the sweet harmonies. \u201cThere\u2019s a wealth of awesome, funny, dirty, crazy stories,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
And if we can indulge in a little bit of California Dreaming, what about the prospect of one day taking these songs back to where they were born?<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, it seems impossible, a bunch of little Australians taking this music to the US,\u201d Gawenda says. \u201cOn the other hand, because I think the show is so great, it\u2019d be a bold move and I think we could pull it off. I\u2019d be up for taking the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Songs From the Canyon<\/a> is at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne as part of Live at the Gardens<\/a> on Sunday, November 30.<\/p>\n