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‘The duo stringmansassy’s spontaneous performances were stunning…’ Jackey Coyle : Rhythms February 2004 Review of the Woodford Folk Festival 2003-2004

“The world of stringmansassy is one in which ‘passion’ flows like an electric current. Each nuance of music played, each guitar string plucked, each note sung, each motion and action was made with conviction and belief. This music was right. It was important. It traversed themes from the light-hearted to the politically adroit but the performance never strayed from feeling ‘true’. stringmansassy clearly love what they do and they do it very well.” Andrew MacLean : music-culture.org.au 10/11/2003 Review of Brisbane Powerhouse 2/11/2003

“Internationally ranked Brisbane duo stringmansassy were the standout attraction of the festival for my money. Their jazz influenced, very personal music was enthralling. All who saw them perform Sting's Fragile, encompassing desperately sad bird calls from singer Kacey Patrick will tell you how unforgettable the experience was. Their concert on Sunday saw them render a similar effect with their enthralling Red On Blue. …very memorable indeed.” Steve Baker : Folk Alliance Australia - Newsletter Jan. 2004 Review of Yungaburra Folk Festival 10/2003

“The world of stringmansassy is one in which George Harrison’s phrase “while my guitar gently weeps’ makes perfect sense….for Hopper is a master guitarist both in interpretation and composition.” Andrew MacLean : music-culture.org.au 10/11/2003 Review of Brisbane Powerhouse 2/11/2003

“Patrick possesses a voice of unparalleled clarity, so smooth and precise it’s like listening to a melting ice sculpture.” Matt Connors : Time Off Magazine 7/5/2003

‘It seems that the rules of gravity do not exist for the duo stringmansassy. Guitarist Aaron Hopper and singer Kacey Patrick simply fly away with their music.’ Goettingen Tageblatt – Magazin Review of “Blue Note” Goettingen 14 March, 2001

“For those lucky enough to join them, the visit is wonderful….even the laws of physics are subject to subtle manipulation in stringmansassy’s world” (Andrew MacLean 10/11/2003). _____________________________________________________________________

Guitarist Aaron Hopper & Vocalist Kacey Patrick are innovators, improvisers, passionate & spontaneous performers.

From early beginnings in 1996, stringmansassy have been touring intensively Internationally and throughout Australia since 2000. In that time, they have become one of the most highly regarded performance duos in Australia.

Lovers of music in all its forms, Kacey and Aaron’s performances retain elements of their influences: Bobby McFerrin, Maria Joao, Ralph Towner, Patti Griffin, Cleo Laine, Ella Fitzgerald, Sting, Tuck and Patti, Pierre Bensusin, Middle-Eastern, African & Celtic traditional music.

stringmansassy have released 3 independent recordings to date; ‘Dragonfly’ (2004), ‘Beautiful Day’ (2003) and ‘Persuasion’ (2000). The reviews for ‘Dragonfly’ were all praise and during the first 3 months of 2005, it was featured No.1 in the AIR (Australian Independent Recording Association) Jazz Charts. It remained in the TOP 10 of the AIR charts for most of 2005. This followed on from the success of ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Persuasion’. ‘Beautiful Day’ was featured on major radio networks throughout the Australia with the title track included on the ABC national play list. ‘Persuasion’ was the winner of the Best New Talent category and nominated for the Best Jazz Album at the 2001 Queensland sunnie awards.

stringmansassy embarked upon their 4th national Australian tour in 2004 to support the release of ‘Dragonfly’. Their live performances continued to astound audiences at some of Australia’s finest music venues and festivals including; The Basement and The Vanguard in Sydney, Tilley’s in Canberra and Bennetts Lane in Melbourne, the Port Fairy, National and Yungaburra Folk Festivals, the Apollo Bay and Queenscliff Music Festivals, the Norfolk Island and Valley Jazz Festivals, the Folk Alliance Convention, the Valley Fiesta and “The Spiegeltent” for the Queensland Festival of Music. Their ‘Dragonfly Tour’ performances at the Brisbane Powerhouse concert theatre sold out and their performances at the Woodford Folk Festival (the largest festival in the southern hemisphere) were acclaimed as festival highlights. During Woodford 2004, they received standing ovations from every audience, were invited to perform for the annual Fire Event and achieved Cd sales in the Top 5 selling artists over the duration of the festival.

On an international level, stringmansassy very quickly gained a following for their rich tapestry of unique and contemporary Australian music. 2000 was the beginning of their career as international touring artists. Following performances at Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Kacey and Aaron were invited to perform at the Australian Pavilion at World EXPO 2000. During their five months in Hanover, they featured as a highlight of this world event on television networks throughout Germany and returned to Germany in February 2001 to consolidate their success with performances at the acclaimed Hanover Jazz Festival and an invitation to support renowned guitarist Albert Lee at Café Hahn in Koblenz. stringmansassy concluded their German Tour with the EXPO 2000 Revival Party, representing Australia at the former EXPO site on June the 1st and 2nd, 2001. stringmansassy returned to Germany with performances throughout the country from Hamburg to Munich, Koblenz to Berlin and in 2004, they also included Vienna on their tour.

Closer to home, stringmansassy have journeyed to New Caledonia to perform at the Festival Femme Funk (2003 and 2004) and in April 2005, Aaron and Kacey were invited to Japan to perform at the Australian Pavilion at the Aichi World EXPO as members of the ‘Creative Queensland’ trade delegation. They returned to Japan in August 2005 for more performances at EXPO.

After an 18 month hiatus from performing where both Aaron and Kacey pursued other aspects of life (Kacey is now a Mum and Aaron has been teaching at the Conservatorium and working as a part of the River Dreaming Festival committee in his adopted town of Bathurst), stringmansassy are revisiting the stage with recent performances in Japan, and through the east coast of Australia. Stringmansassy are currently finishing off production of their long awaited 4th CD of "live" performances at festivals and venues throughout the country, consolidated with a NARPACA Tour throughout regional Queensland and An extensive Australian tour beginning in February until August 2008.

Earlier in the year, stringmansassy signed a management contract with Red Chair and all performance enquiries and other queries can now be directed to Angie Dunbavan and Jolanda Horsburgh at www.redchair.com.au.

Stringmansassy CD’s ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Dragonfly’ are now available to download from iTunes or from htttp://www.indie-cds.com or http://www.redchair.com.au.

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