We love festivals! A marvellous opportunity to get together with friends and share food, conversation and ambience in the fresh air. We attended Picnic on The Green at Gledswood Homestead and Winery on Sunday, and had an absolute ball. Pretty Picnics outdid herself!

I was delighted to catch up with my friend, Katie Beech, and her husband, Riley, who are The Old Married Couple, a very talented duo. Their music carries me away, into sunny fields of daisies and sunflowers, a flower crown atop my head. No worries or cares in their land of whimsy. They are an indie-folk couple from Sydney. They play at weddings and events, festivals and fairs. They perform both originals and cover songs. They also offer personalized songs for weddings and other occasions. They are the whole package, man! I had to find out more of the history of my gorgeous friends.  Riley: “We started as a young dating couple ten years ago, but formed a musical duo a year ago, when I wrote a duet song (Stuck with me), for my solo album. As the song discussed so many things from our relationship, it made sense that Kate would sing the female parts. I started leaning towards writing for the duo, and The Old Married Couple organically formed over a few months.”  Katie: “We got married in March this year after being a couple for ten years. We met at school, when Riley’s best friend tried to pick up by following me to the train station, attempting to convince me to hang out with him. He meant well, but it was intimidating. Riley was there with him and something about him made me feel more comfortable. Over the next few weeks, we ended up together!”

What are your musical influences? “We love our Australian music. We find a lot of inspiration in artists like Things of Stone and Wood, Frente and Darren Hanlon, as well as other duo’s like She and Him and Simon and Garfunkel. Mostly our songs come from each other’s quirks and quotes.“ What are your goals for the future? “We’re very focused on the immediate future and we like to set small goals and change them as they happen. Things have been growing very quickly and our focus right now is to keep them growing in terms of the quality of our music and performance. Our number one goal has always been reaching as many people as we can and forcing smiles onto even the sourest of faces.” The Old Married Couple have just completed a tour around Melbourne, and I asked how they found it? “Melbourne was a major moment for The Old Married Couple. We were treated so kindly and professionally by the industry and audience down there, that it gave us the motivation to grow. We want to have the same experience in Sydney, and then all around the country and in time, the world.” I have no doubt that they shall. If you want to discover whimsy through music, this is the duo for you.  For further information, or to purchase their CD,  go to www.theoldmarriedcouple.com or www.facebook.com/theoldmarriedcouple