Evan Harris Quartet featuring Nick Pennington at the AAA Arts Fund Awards Ceremony

I am again thrilled to have been a part of the American Australian Association’s Arts Fund, on this occasion appearing with my quartet alongside my musical companion Nick Pennington, for the AAA annual Awards Ceremony.

This year the AAA hono(u)red Australian icon Kylie Minogue, rising Broadway star Jacob Elordi, and literary legend Peter Carey and his protege Graham Akhurst, and so the gravity of the event was certainly felt by the band. The rhythm section were likened to a fine Barossa Valley shiraz, all hailing from South Australia, and were ably led by Nick Pennington:

• Nick Pennington - lead guitar

• Sam Zerna - double bass

• Angus Mason - drums

• Evan Harris - saxophone

We were thrilled to premiere a composition co-written by Nick and myself, which draws inspiration from honouree Peter Carey’s classic novel “The True History of the Kelly Gang”. The band was giddy with excitement to meet Peter, and bassist Sam Zerna clutched his copy of a Carey novel in hopes of it being signed for the entirety of the evening (pictured). We were humbled to meet Peter, and pleased he enjoyed our performance.

Nick and I expect to expound upon the musical concept of the piece we premiered, and are aiming to compose a programmatic suite of music that reflects our interpretation of Carey’s “The True History of the Kelly Gang”, with performances and a recording slated for the not-too-distant future.