April 14th, 2025Cosmo Birthday Bash

The Cosmopolitan Hotel is celebrating its 15th birthday with a Meet the Artists event over the Easter weekend.  

High Ace (Alison Ferrier & Jeff Lang) – Good Friday, April 18, 7.30pm – 9.30pm  

London-born and raised singer/songwriter/guitarist/violinist Alison Ferrier has released three solo albums and most recently has been touring and releasing music  with the highly regarded Opelousas alongside Kerri Simpson and Anthony Shortte.  

Their debut album Opelousified won Music Victoria’s Best Blues Album of the Year.  Acclaimed guitarist, singer/songwriter Jeff Lang has won three ARIAs,  collaborated with countless artists including Malian Kora virtuoso Mamadou Diabate  and Tabla maestro Bobby Singh in Djan Djan.

He’s toured the UK, US and Europe  multiple times and played extensively in Asia, including appearances in major festivals  in Japan, China and India. In 2021, Jeff published his first book – Some Memories  Never Die – a fascinating and funny memoir of his life on the road.  

Together, the wife and husband team have created a fascinating new musical  project they’ve called High Ace and have now delivered a fabulous debut album,  Snowcap Menace.  

Karl S. Williams and Sally Wiggins – Easter Saturday, April 19, 3pm – 5pm  

Karl S. Williams and Sally Wiggins make music that is steeped in delta blues,  gospel and old-time folk, with poetic sensibilities that call to mind the classic singer/  songwriters of yesteryear.

With a voice that sounds about a thousand years old, Karl  moves between guitar, piano and banjo while Sally holds it down on the kit with  mesmerising rhythms drawn from her wealth of jazz and Afro influences.  

Karl proudly traces his bloodlines to the Butchulla and Darug people of  Australia’s First Nations. This deep connection to the landscape of his pervades his work and infuses it with a spirituality that is older than time.  

Together, they are liberated to lean into the music, playing with space and silence  as much as notes – veering effortlessly from acoustic intimacy to fuzzed-out garage  blues. With a mandate to improvise, eschew convention and give voice to the human  spirit, they take audiences on an emotional ride, which is frequently described as  mesmerising.  

The Deserters (Brooke Taylor & Delsinki) – Easter Saturday, April 19, 7.30 pm –  9.30pm  

Two voices and many strings drawing on multiple influences, Brooke Taylor and  Delsinki bring a wealth of experience to the table in their exciting new collaboration  going under the moniker ‘The Deserters’.

There’s a bunch of new songs, some choice  new covers, all presented with the same down-home charm and urbane wit they have  become respectively known for.  The Deserters promises to be an exciting new chapter in the career of this pair of  much-loved and hard-working Melbourne players.  

Jess Parker – Easter Sunday, April 20, 3pm – 5pm  

Summoning the dark folk spirits from her home in the Victorian Goldfields and  making them dance to sweet country blues, Campbells Creek guitar picker Jess Parker  has been sharing her stories state-wide for the past eight years.  

Gearing up to release her third solo record and having shared the stage with the  likes of Cedric Burnside and CW Stoneking during her career, Jess is one not be  missed.  

Steve Kilbey – Easter Sunday, April 20, 8pm – 10pm  

Steve Kilbey was born a long time ago and very far away. In 1980 he formed the  best group in the universe called The Church who have released over 30 albums. But  there is much more to his musical journey…  This will be a special intimate evening with the lead singer of The Church.

Steve  is set to perform all the hits and deep cuts from The Church, plus songs from his solo  career and cover versions, all accompanied by anecdotes, tall tales and true, and pithy  observations of the music business and his 45-year career.  

Bad Debts – Easter Monday, April 21, 1pm – 3pm  

Bad Debts are a local Castlemaine outfit, fronted by three individual songwriters  in Pete Daly, Al Carr and Mitch Dillon. They came together in mid-2024, joined  by Al Stanley on drums to rehearse an initial batch of material variously described as  loose rock’n’roll and open sky roots music.  

They played one well-received hometown gig in late 2024, as well as a quick trip  down the Calder to play for a Melbourne audience at the Old Bar, before hunkering down in local studio Ragged Gum to record their first album. The album will be out  in mid-2025.