An evening with The Waifs

After promising fans that missed out on tickets to the 25th Anniversary Tour Ironbark back in 2017, The Waifs are back, returning to regional areas around the country this month. Sister Donna and Vikki Simpson (nowadays Vikki Thorn) and Josh Cunningham are hitting the road and taking their music to places such as Cairns, Townsville, Mt Gambier, Warrnambool, Frankston and Geelong.
Before getting stuck into the return of the regional tour, we stopped in to chat with band member Josh Cunningham who gave us an insight into the country’s beloved folk rock trio. “Number one, keeping promises is really important,” Cunningham says in reference to why they’re back on the road. But it seems as though it wasn’t just about being true to their words as to why they were drawn back to the regional areas of this country.
“Whenever we get a chance to get away from just doing a standard major centre kind of tour and get to some more out of the way places, we always love it,” he smiles. And it seems as though the fans really love it too; with multiple sold out shows in towns such as Canberra, Noarlunga, Warrnambool, Frankston and two in San Remo.
It’s clear their love for playing country towns has stemmed from the beginning. Although Cunningham wasn’t able to pin-point the Waifs favourite places to stop around the country, he did make mention on a few special places that meant more than a little to both him and the girls. “Broome is a really special place because that’s where we met and formed, 26 years ago,”he says, before also mentioning Western Australia, Melbourne and Regional Victoria as well. “I could probably just keep talking and reminiscing going around the country, and there would be a story related to every single place. That’s the beauty of having spent so much time on the road; it’s that experience and those memories that you make that makes it special.”
The Waifs have always had a loving, close connection with fans, and especially regional fans throughout Australia, and it shows throughout their work over the past 26 years. The trio has insistently toured every corner of Australia and has endured all the changes along the ways. Before heading into a more complex touring schedule, Cunningham spoke about the nostalgia of the simpler times. “Back in those early days, it was just the three of us in a single campervan that we owned. We were just a bunch of kids in a campervan,” he says before commenting on their touring regime now, which includes more airports, car rentals, additional band members and crew members. “There’s a whole production that goes with it – it’s just not as simple as it used to be. Those extra musicians and extra people all help to make the whole thing happen,” he continues, “There’s beauty in that simplicity, but also on account of having those extra musicians and extra people, they all help to make the whole thing happen and the standard of everything is so much higher.”
For those Waifs fans out there, they will already know that the love for music and preforming is evident whenever The Waifs are together. “The story of the band is much bigger than just music; it’s not just let’s get together and make music. We’ve shared life together and I think that’s something that’s really beautiful.”
For those of you that have listened to their new album, we are sure that you’ll resonate with this statement.
When & Where: The Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool – October 7 & Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong – October 10.
Written by Shae Louise