The Bushwackers

The Bushwackers Band, often simply the Bushwackers, is an Australian folk and country music band or Bush band founded at La Trobe University in Melbourne in 1971. Band history Originally calling themselves The Original Bushwhackers and Bullockies Bush Band (later changed to "Bushwackers"), the band was conceived at La Trobe University in Melbourne after Dave Isom who had started the L.U. Uni Folk Club in 1969 went to see a concert by "The Wild Colonial Boys" at The Assembly Hall, Melbourne, with Bert Kahanoff. He was so inspired by the concert he decided to form a band, lifting the name from a record featuring Martyn Wyndham Read, Peter Dickie, Jim Buchanan and others entitled "Bullockies, Bushwhackers and Booze". The first gigs were in October 1971 as a trio with Dave Isom on guitar and banjo, Jan Wositzky on bush bass, bones and harmonica, Bert Kahanoff on lagerphone with all singing. They were later joined by various players, including accordion and concertina player Mick Slocum, and fiddlers Tony Hunt and Dave Kidd. In 1974 the band went full-time with their first tour to the British Isles, and Kahanoff was replaced by lagerphone player Dobe Newton. With an ever-changing line-up, and adding tin whistle, harmonica, concertina, 5-string banjo, bodhrán, bones, spoons, electric bass and guitar and drums the band worked throughout Australia and Europe. Roger Corbett joined the band in 1980 and remains the principal songwriter, producer and manager of the band. Other members have included Fred Kuhnl, David Brannigan (The Colinails), drummer Gregory Martin, Steve Groves, Pete Farndon, Dave Mattacks, Pat Drummond, Michael Harris, Louis McManus, Eddy van Roosendael, Freddie Strauks (ex Skyhooks) drummer Pete Drummond (currently with Dragon) and world-renowned Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. In August 2023, members Dobe Newton and Roger Corbett performed a rendition of "I Am Australian", which Newton co-wrote, in their audition on the twelfth season of The Voice Australia, in which they received a four-chair turn before securing a place on coach Jessica Mauboy's team.