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.  

with Eve Lamb

Kevin Smith’s dynamic talent has made him no stranger to  winning art prizes, including an impressive collection of  the region’s most prestigious. This Little Hampton based  artist currently has a new exhibition of his work on show at Trentham’s Cosmopolitan Hotel.  

Eve: I hear you did nicely quite recently with a certain art prize?  

Kevin: Yes I won the landscape prize in the Daylesford  Rotary Art Show. It was a surprise on the night. It was a local  scene, the Trentham Falls. Petrus Spronk was the judge. I mean  it’s nice but I’m not in it for the prizes.  

Eve: You’ve been a practicing artist for quite a while now haven’t  you?  

Kevin: Sixty years. Since I was at art school. I was 16 and it  was called the National Gallery Art School at the time. It’s now  VCA at the back of the (National Gallery of Victoria) art gallery.  

Eve: But what drew you to art in the first place?  

Kevin: I was influenced by my older brother, anything he  was into, and he was into art. In my early teens I had a good art  teacher at college. The art students were seen as being ‘out there’.  I love the expressionists, especially the German expressionists.  

Eve: Now you’ve got this new show that’s just opened here at The  Cosmo in Trentham, how long will these works be exhibited here?  

Kevin: They’ll be on show here for a couple of months.  

Eve: There’s some fantastic large paintings here. How many  individual works are there in this exhibition?  

Kevin: Thirty-three, completed over the last year.  

Eve: What media do you prefer to use?  

Kevin: Usually oil but this lot is primarily acrylic.  

Eve: Can you tell me a bit more about this recent body of work?  

Kevin: There are some pure abstract, some expressionist  landscapes and townscapes. Some are just fun, like those Ned  Kelly ones. Young Ned Kelly was arrested near here, near Little  Hampton. There are also some social commentary pieces, a bit  political.  

Eve: Have you ever worked in any other areas besides art?  

Kevin: Yes. I’ve owned book stores and worked in the book  trade. My brother and I had a book store in Bourke Street, and  I also worked at the Adelaide Art Gallery. Ran their book store  for a few years. I did all the buying. I’ve also worked at Deans  Art Supplies and also as a stage hand working on sets including A  Country Practice. It was fun for a while.  

Eve: What do you enjoy most about the process of making art?  

Kevin: Just not knowing what you’re going to end up with. Playing with  colour and materials. I play music while I work, usually contemporary jazz.  

Eve: Do you have any significant events ahead that you are working towards?  

Kevin: I’m working on sculpture which will be going into the Trentham Art  Prize at Easter.  

Eve: What’s your subject?  Kevin: Dogs. My little foxy dog Bessie often gets worked into my work. I  don’t think she has for this (Cosmopolitan Hotel) one though. Poor bugger.  

Trentham’s Cosmopolitan Hotel is holding an inaugural International Women’s Day Charity Lunch in Trentham on Friday, March 8.

The hotel will host a three-course lunch and the event will feature guest speakers and music from the Castlemaine Chamber Orchestra.

The historic hotel will host a delicious three-course lunch with free-flowing drinks from event partner Shadowfax Wines and the debut fundraiser includes a cocktail on arrival from the drink sponsor Big Tree Distillery.

Proceeds will go to Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s Family Services and Housing Support programs which provide support to women and children experiencing family violence.

Tickets are available through www.humanitix.com

Headed to Trentham to perform at The Cosmopolitan Hotel next month, Charles Jenkins is a Melbourne songwriter/musician, producer and performer with more than 30 years experience in the Australian Music Industry.

He has released 21 albums, toured Europe and the USA several times and been nominated for two ARIA awards with the Icecream Hands. In 2014 he won the AGE/Music Victoria award for best folk/roots album and in August 2020 Icecream Hands released their first album in 13 years – No Weapon But Love. In Dec 2022 he released his latest solo album Radio Sketches 2 – the Death Of Stars.

A published songwriter of more than 30 years, his songs have featured in local and international television and film and have been recorded by other artists.

Charles has run songwriting, vocal and performance workshops over the last 20 years with a wide cross-section of the Victorian community.

His Trentham gig happens Saturday evening, December 9 with more info through Trybooking and The Cosmo.