ABSTRACT
During the 1970s a vocal and instrumental ensemble known as the bush band appeared on the Australian folk music scene. It was a group of about five musicians, who performed a combination of Australian vernacular ballads and mostly Irish dance music played in relatively unsophisticated style. While the bush band sometimes played on the concert platform, its main performance context was the ‘bush dance’. Such occasions were most often urban and the dances chosen as historical Australian ‘folk dances’. A dance caller would enable those unfamiliar with the dances to participate and the forms were often simplified. Throughout the evening these dances were interspersed with songs performed by the band. Over a decade these bands and their performances quickly became popular among a wide range of social groups, from inner-city students to suburban working class families, as well as folk enthusiasts with whom the style originated. The bush dance became a popular choice for cross-generational events like weddings and twenty-first birthday parties, and for community fundraising events (O'Shea 1988:102). The bush band reached its peak of popularity around 1980. Although less popular now, it is still well-established in Australian musical life, and its music is the most important popular public genre of Australian folk music.
