Magpie Diaries are from Dashville, the music Mecca based in the Hunter Valley NSW. Led by songwriter Matt ‘Magpie’ Johnston, they are an authentically Australian folk-country-rock act that permeate dreamy alternative country sounds which deliver Magpie’s beautiful lyricism and melody, full of relatable stories, that feel honest, hopeful and full of heart.
Magpie Diaries are very much an active family band on the rise, with a huge following that is bellowing out from the Dashville community.
In 2025, after a big creative chapter, dealing with the outcomes of the pandemic shutting down their live music venue, Magpie Diaries finally released their sophomore album ‘Some Kind Of View’, the follow up to their 2018 debut LP, ‘Sanctuary’.
Some Kind Of View was self produced by the band and recorded at Dashville. It received much praise from music media and critics, particularly noted for its lush arrangements and unique sound. The album achieved high rotation and feature album on ABC Country. The album was 2SER Sydney’s favourite release for 2025, and noted in a number of ‘best of’ lists at the end of 2025.
Magpie Diaries have just recorded their third full length album. Titled Down By The River recorded in Tasmania, in an old apple boat shed on the Huon River, with Engineer Jethro Pickett.
A bunch of players all nestled around the kitchen table, recorded 9 songs in 6 hours, in a session all songwriters dream of. Players included Cam Henderson, Todd Johnston, Jeremy Marcotte, Louis Gill and Magpie. And the result is a fine pudding. Not over worked, but very special. A new album, built from more of a traditional folk, bluegrass style approach, but a little more whack and less tradition. Just good humble pudding and this song is the first taste of it. We hope you enjoy.
The band are well versed with touring Australia, often applying an energy towards country halls and out of the way regional towns. The band have also performed at a number of high profile venues and festivals, including TCMF main stage, Party In The Paddock, Kiama Jazz n Blues, Nannup in WA and Darwin Festival. They are also fan favourites at the popular festivals they run, being The Gum Ball, Nundle Rocks and Dashville Skyline.
Earlier this year, after a wrath of DIY summer touring in support of the Some Kind Of View album, playing their own headline shows and also supports with The Cruel Sea, Fanny Lumsden, William Crighton, Emily Lubitz and Cordovas (US), Magpie and his band mates retreated to the Huon Valley in Tasmania, to record the next album and they did it around the kitchen table, recording 9 songs in 6 hours, in a comfortable, effortless session all songwriters dream of.
The album is called, ‘Down By The River’ and it will be released via Dashville Community Records on February 17 2027.
Join us at the Petersham Bowling Club for a very special Friday evening when Dashville natives Magpie Diaries roll into town for an earthly alt-country folk jam, a taste test of the next album, their third full length record titled ‘Down By The River’ which is due for release in early 2027.
The first single lifted from the album, the subtle rollicking ‘Winters Back’ lends to the stripped back 'all strings' vibe of this next album, which was recorded around a kitchen table in a boat shed by the Huon River, Tasmania in the space of 6 hours.
Magpie laments, ‘this next album is a cracker, but it started out as a protest record of sorts, against the fact our previous album took over five years to make..’
He refers to the acclaimed Some Kind Of View, released October 2025, which is an incredible collection of ten songs, blending dreamy alt-country, with heartfelt lyrics written by Magpie and self-produced by the band on home soil at Dashville over that unsettling period of 5 years 2020-2025.
Blending soul, country, and ‘70s folk-rock, Some Kind of View is more than a collection of songs - it’s a time capsule, a heartfelt nod to family and to the land. Lush arrangements with trademark harmonies wrapping Magpie’s reflective lyrics in warmth and weight - as heard in singles Go Anywhere, Old Road, Love Is Hard, History, Time Moves On and Land For Sale, which received high rotation across ABC Country and various community radio across the country.
For this evening Magpie Diaries will be a five piece string band playing songs from all three albums and will be joined by the amazingly fun Charley Castle & The Boys in The Well.
'Fast-paced and infectious, Charley Castle leads her Boys in the Well to a new strain of Australian bluegrass. With guitar, double bass and mandolin, and tight-stack harmonies, the quartet marry traditional sounds with modern sensibilities and sweet southern hemisphere spirit.'
Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you there!
This is an 18+ Show.
UPCOMING GIGS
VIDEOS
View all Magpie Diaries videos on the youtube link below
MERCH
Blending soul, country, and ‘70s folk-rock, Some Kind of View is more than a collection of songs - it’s a time capsule, a heartfelt nod to family and to the land. With their trademark harmonies wrapping Magpie’s reflective lyrics in warmth and weight - as heard in singles Go Anywhere, Old Road, Love Is Hard, History, and the newest, Land For Sale, now on high rotation across ABC Country - the album finds Magpie Diaries at their most grounded and inspired yet (Jess even tracking drums with a baby strapped to her back). It's an incredible achievement, and now it's the world's to enjoy.
11 Songs written through the journey of childhood into impressionable manhood. Recorded over the course of a few years 2015-2018, between Dashville, Laguna, Mullumbimby and Nashville. Also available on CD and VINYL (with download card).
