February 9th, 2023Chilling Out with Sam Lohs – one half of the Tuck Shop Ladies
Sam Lohs, one half of the Tuck Shop Ladies, will be performing at a few events at ChillOut (see below). Sam chatted with the festival’s Amy Fabry-Jenkins.
Amy: Have you been to Daylesford or ChillOut before?
Sam: Ohmigosh yes, we’ve been lucky to have been to many! My first impression was that it was colourful, chill, vibrant and inclusive
Amy: What’s your favourite ChillOut festival memory?
Sam: I think, as well as many of our shows we’ve performed, the one stand out would be watching the pride march with our friends, our kids and our dogs. There we were, one big mish mash of chosen family, watching the colour and love of the parade march by…it just made my heart feel so full.
Amy: Tell us about the Tuck Shop Ladies – how did you meet, how did this musical magic start?
Sam: Rosie and I had been playing in the Rosie Burgess trio for many years and as much as we loved playing in a semi serious folk band I think we were looking for something a little fun and different (plus we were sick of carrying all the heavy equipment – guitars, drum kit etc!) So we taught ourselves to play ukuleles and starting writing observational humorous songs in the back of our van and on dog walks!
Amy: What was your favourite food at the tuck shop as kids?
Sam: Mine was a hot pie, an extremely special treat. We rarely got to buy lunch at the tuck shop!
Amy: What are you looking forward to this ChillOut Festival?
Sam: A whole lot of our friends and musical hero’s will be playing along side us this year – such as This Way North, Jude Perl and Hussy Hicks. It’s so much fun when we all get together and I never get tired of watching them play.
Amy: ChillOut Festival is Australia’s longest running regional pride event – this is our 26th year! What your earliest memory (or an early memory you hold dear) of LGBQTIA+ community?
Sam: I think just feeling embraced as a young gay 20 something year old playing in my first band ‘Fruit’ all those years ago. Feeling a sense of comradery and belonging.
Amy: What do you like about performing at LGBTQIA+ events? Is there anything that makes regional pride events different?
Sam: Absolutely. I think there’s less pretence. Everything is a little slower and feels more community driven. There’s a real sense of togetherness.
Amy: This year’s festival theme is ‘Find Your Wings” – celebrating the reappearance of local native ‘bright eyed brown butterfly’ and of everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community finding themselves, their happy place, their community. When or how did you ‘find your wings’?
Sam: Honestly, I think I’ve been finding and collecting mine at so many different times in my life. Adding feathers along the journey is one of the best parts of being alive.
Amy: With the exception of the festival, what else can we expect from you in 2023?
Sam: We have so many wonderful things on the horizon but I guess one of the most exciting things is that we will be taking part in The Melbourne International Comedy Festival 27th March – 2nd April. We’ve never played a comedy festival and just between you and us we’re quietly pooping our pants!!
The Tuck Shop Ladies will be performing at:
Comedy at the Convent, Saturday 11 March, 4pm
