Mike shares a drop of tasty Gin

JOIN

the club — Australian folk/ country/rock/soul/psych collective The Gin Club, that is — as they showcase their top-quality songwriting and musicianship in Hobart next week.

Since forming at an open mic night in Brisbane in 2003, The Gin Club — Angus Agars, Ola Karlsson, Bridget Lewis, Conor Macdonald, Dan Mansfield, Brad Pickersgill, Scotty Regan, Ben Salter and Adrian Stoyle — have gone on to share stages with everyone from The Drones and Band of Horses to Iron & Wine and Paul Kelly; tour Canada and the US; and play at a bunch of Australian festivals, including Splendour In The Grass, Byron Bay Blues and Roots, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Dark Mofo.

Along the way they’ve released five studio albums and one live album, with 2008’s Junk scoring them three Queensland Music Awards — for Best Folk/Ballad, Best Rock Song and Song of the Year ( Ten Paces Away).

With Stockholm-based Karlsson spending the festive season in Australia this year, The Gin Club have decided to dust off their dancing shoes, fuel up the Kia Carnival and hit the road for a bunch of shows across the country this month.

In Hobart they are being joined by former Tasmanian musician Mike Noga and his band.

Known for his work with The Drones before launching a successful solo career, Noga is one of Australia’s most accomplished songwriters. He has spent much of this year touring to promote his concept album KING, the critically acclaimed follow-up to 2011’s The Balladeer Hunter.

Noga and his band — Jordan Garuccio, Sam Cross, Mark Wilson and fellow former Hobart musician Thomas Hyland — will perform KING in full, giving fans one last chance to hear the album live before Noga settles in to work on two new albums that are for release next year.

The Gin Club, the Mike Noga Band and local support Christopher Coleman play at the Hobart Brewing Co (Macquarie Point) from 7pm on Tuesday. Tickets are $25 (plus booking fee), for bookings go to www.eventbrite.com.au