Adam McGrath & Jess Shanks (The Eastern Solo)

Adam McGrath & Jess Shanks sing songs solo, together.

Adam McGrath is a folk singer stationed wherever he lands. He travels the state highways and byways of New Zealand, Australia, Europe and parts beyond, slinging songs and offering up low rent barroom philosophy with his band of misfits and chancers, The Eastern.

His songs have gathered a clutch of good reviews in NZ and overseas, he's been nominated for a couple of serious music awards (including the Apra Silver Scroll), Graham Reid from the NZ herald called him 'NZ's toughest minded songwriter’ and Barry Saunders from The Warratahs simply described him as “The Truth”.

Having traversed the countryside for the last ten years in New Zealand’s hardest working band The Eastern, Jess Shanks is a renown guitar picking, banjo frailing, foot stomper with a sweet southern voice and a raft of songs built from years on the road.

Performing haunting contemporary folk tunes steeped in time and place and woven from her countless travels, Jess has cultivated an unique approach to New Zealand roots music, she has created something entirely her own, spellbinding and quintessentially kiwi.