The Maes with Holly Arrowsmith

Multi-award-winning Melbourne contemporary folk outfit, The Maes (formerly The Mae Trio) is the brainchild of sisters Maggie and Elsie Rigby. Since 2014, The Maes have been full time touring in Australia and overseas, winning over audiences with their striking songwriting, intricate instrumental arrangements and stunning vocal harmonies.

Their touring history includes some of the world’s largest and most prestigious music festivals: the Woodford and Port Fairy Folk Festivals (Australia), the Edmonton and Vancouver Folk Festivals (Canada), Cambridge Folk and Celtic Connections Festivals (UK) and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival (USA).

The Maes’ latest, self-titled record released in May 2019 is a return to the sisters’ folk music roots. Born on tour, the album was recorded in and features production from top roots music producers from around the world including, Daniel Ledwell in Nova Scotia (Jenn Grant, Good Lovelies), John Fitzgerald in Ireland (Christy Moore, Lisa Hannigan) and Brendon Love in Australia (Teskey Brothers).

Holly Arrowsmith was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico to an American Father and New Zealand born Mother. Her family owned ‘Arrowsmith’s Relics of the Old West’, a gallery that welcomed passersby such as Patti Smith and Johnny Cash into their Native American and Cowboy art collection. When her family moved to New Zealand in the late

1990’s, they brought their South Western flare with them. Growing up near Arrowtown in the picturesque Wakatipu Basin, these two very different cultural identities are woven through Holly’s music. A gentle hand of Country and Folk storytelling, and a deep reverence for New Zealand landscape create a grounded sense of place in these songs- enough so to transport the listener into her world.

Touring since the age of nineteen, Arrowsmith has earned her place as one of the forerunners in New Zealand's current folk revivalist movement. Now at twenty-five, she has toured both hemispheres and supported artists such as Sixto Rodriguez, Willie Watson, CW Stoneking, Jessica Pratt, Nadia Reid and Tiny Ruins. She was Awarded the TUI for ‘Folk Album of 2016’ for her debut record ‘A Dawn I Remember’, and APRA ‘Country Song of the Year’ 2019 for the powerful track ‘Slow Train Creek’, penned in the Rockies of Colorado.