Belle Miners on a Summer Day in Hobart

Summer in Hobart is a fickle beast.  One day temperatures over 30 degrees accompanied by bushfire warnings.  The next day snow.  On a chilly and rainy Sunday in Hobart, whilst the rest of the country was suffering under an unprecedented heatwave, I went to the Republic Bar to see what live music was being offered.  There was an open fire burning and the venue had a cosy feel against the showery, sunny, cloudy, cold, rainbowy afternoon.

The Belle Miners (Felicia Harding, Jaime Jacket and Marina Marina) are out of British Colombia, Canada.  Right from the get go it was clear that I was in for a great afternoon of musical entertainment with the Belle Miners.  The three women told their stories through song with extraordinary harmonies that go right to your heart and bring out an emotional response.

They played a mix of originals and covers that was perfect for a quiet afternoon drinking Cherry Pear Cider. The covers were great and singing along was encouraged. Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" and the obligatory Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel" were perfect for a little crowd involvement.

My favourite of their originals was "Strange World".  This type of storytelling through song serves to remind that whilst we are all different we are also basically the same.  In that, we are never really alone and as this song says 'No-one gets out alive'.  I found this strangely comforting or maybe it was just the cider.