Craig Pittendrigh

An acoustic folk/rock songwriter and performer, I have been writing songs since 1994 and performing them live since 1998. I tend to write songs that sort of tell a story, in a humorous sort of way. I play my music strictly on an acoustic style with the only backing being acoustic guitar and sometimes harmonica or mandolin as needed.

Artist History: I have played at various venues including: Empress Hotel (North Fitzroy), Railway Hotel (North Fitzroy), Railway Hotel (Brunswick), Excelsior Hotel (Surry Hills, Sydney), Nicholson's (North Carlton, now closed), Windsor Castle Hotel (Prahran), Duke of Windsor Hotel (Prahran), Subterrain (North Fitzroy), Tramways Hotel (North Fitzroy), Rucker’s Bar (Northcote), Barleycorn Hotel (Collingwood), Bendigo Hotel (Collingwood), Yak Speakeasy (Abbotsford), House of Fools (Footscray), The Tin Shed (Belgrave), Mount Dandenong Hotel (Olinda), Dandenong Ranges Folk Club at Olinda Hall (Olinda), Uncle Neil's Cafe (Upwey), Shakespeare's Bar and Bistro (Frankston), Greyhound Hotel (St Kilda), Village Belle Hotel (St Kilda), Muse Bar/Modern Art Cafe (St Kilda), Esplanade Hotel (Gershwin Room) (St Kilda), The Old Bar (Fitzroy), the Laundry (Fitzroy), Underpass (Clifton Hill), and the 9th Ward (Melbourne City, now closed). In addition I have performed at the Melbourne Concert Hall in front of a crowd of approximately 1500 people as part of a "Red Faces"-style talent quest (January 26, 2000), as well as performing at the Whittlesea Country Music Festival Talent Quest (2002, 2003 and 2004), Yackandandah Folk Festival Buskers Competition (2003), the Mortlake Buskers Festival (2003), Maldon Folk Festival (chalkboard and song contest) (2003) and the Frances Folk Gathering (2004).

Instruments: acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin

Press Reviews:

* "Craig added variety to the night with his mandolin performance of Oh Susannah, Will the Circle Be Unbroken and his own composition Brand New Song" - Robyn James, the Banksia Bulletin newsletter of the Peninsula Folk Club.

* "Friendly guy, and excellent guitar player. Also played his mandolin and harmonica. All this on stage in front of people. You've got to admire that. I could never." – Heidi Pointner, twentyone.diaryland.com.

* “Craig was the first act I was really able to focus on and he did a good set which included his favourite song Barwon Heads. I thought the addition of harmonica to his repertoire (since I'd last seen him play) added nicely to the variety of sounds he was producing.” – Tim Hackett, “the blog they call … tim …” www.farkenace.com/tim/blog.html

* "Craig did a crackingly good solo set with mandolin and played Paul Kelly's 'To Your Door' and the traditional tune 'The Ryebuck Shearer'. I haven't heard Craig play covers before but i thought his departure from tradition was a nice change." - Tim Hackett, “the blog they call … tim …” www.farkenace.com/tim/

* "Hi there, Craig! I'm sitting here listening to Lost Highway, and you have a good storytelling quality that is so prominent in folk musicians. The vocals are pitchy, and more spoken than sung, but if you're looking to be a folk songwriter, you definitely have potential! Good luck!!:-)" - Tiffany Rae, review on mp3.com.au.