Rosie Haden

If you’ve walked the streets of St Kilda over the past two decades, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Rosie Haden’s voice. From her early days doing stints with The Slidewinders at The Greyhound to regular gigs at Dogs Bar and Pure Pop with The Originals and a steady presence at The Lyrebird for the past dozen years, Haden’s presence in St Kilda’s music scene has been enduring.

But when the world ground to a halt in 2020, Rosie traded the buzz of Melbourne for the rugged calm of Tasmania’s north west with partner and bassist Greg Hoepner. Over the past 4 years small-town venues became sanctuaries for live music and appearances at festivals such as Mt Roland, Tamar Valley and last year’s Cygnet Folk Festival have helped cement her growing reputation in the Tasmanian music scene.

This year, Haden returns to her St Kilda stomping ground with Under the Radar: Greg Hoepner on bass, Linda Pittard on percussion, harmonies, and ukulele, with newest member Bruce Innocent on drums, locking it all in with empathy, precision and power. To top it off, she’s roped in the inimitable Julitha Ryan on keys.

The set will feature songs from across her career — past recordings, current projects including material from her recently released work with award winning producer Matt Fell. It’s rootsy blues, it’s folk with a backbone, it’s a Sunday session that somehow stretches into Monday morning in your mind. The music lingers.

Rosie Haden’s songs carry the dust of a hundred stages, the weight of lived experience, and the lightness that comes with knowing your place in it all. Under the Radar might be the name of the band, but with a sound like this, they’re impossible to miss.