“Andrea Kirwin has a rare voice that runs deep….deep enough to carry you back to an era where the way an artist delivered their message was everything.” (LIOR)

“When I heard Andrea I was totally excited to hear such a competent, unique and exciting new songwriter. It is one of the joys of being a musician, traveling the globe and hearing exciting music that I wouldn’t have found at home, yet it is a rare joy. I find there are many competent yet mediocre musicians out there and Andrea was way above anything I had heard for a long long time.” (KRISTINA OLSEN)

ANDREA KIRWIN / ISLAND SOUL

Andrea Kirwin is an Australian-Fijian Singer-songwriter based on the Sunshine Coast,QLD, who has been performing at Folk Festivals since 2008 and has released 5 independent albums under her own independent record label, Peace Run Records. With a warm and welcoming stage presence, deeply soulful sound and a knack for storytelling, Andrea’s live performances are a joy to experience. Whether solo with her guitar, cigar box and stomp or accompanied by her big 13 piece band, THE YAMA-NUI SOCIAL CLUB, Andrea has continued to impress audiences both in Australia and New Zealand with her heartfelt lyrics, incredible vocal range and unique songwriting style for over 15 years. Having picked up a guitar at age 21, Andrea is a self taught guitarist with a love and reverence for authentic expression. With Influences such as Tracy Chapman, Carole King and Eva Cassidy, Andrea has crafted her own sound which she describes as ‘ Fijian Folk and Island Soul’. At her live shows, she will often share stories about her multicultural upbringing from growing up in Townsville as the daughter of a Fijian Church minister, to living in Fiji in her mother’s village of Levukaidaku on the island of Matuku. Her Fijian roots definitely influence her songwriting style and use of harmonies in her recorded music. Andrea grew up singing in both English and Fijian and writes in both languages.

Currently working on her 6th album, Andrea continues to hone her sound and create music that is reflective of her own multicultural experiences. For Andrea, music is a shared experience, and she has built up a beautiful community of musicians around her that help her bring her music to life. Whether performing her more Folk originals accompanied by her wife Claire Evelynn on Celtic Harp or surrounded by her big band featuring strings, horns and back up vocalists, you will always come away feeling positive energy from an Andrea Kirwin live show. In her day to day, Andrea enjoys running her own record label, talent agency and events company, Peace Run Records, from Nambour on the Sunshine Coast and continues to advocate for live music as an independent artist. She is passionate about bringing world class music to regional communities across Australia and has started hosting regional tours with both national and international artists. You can visit www.andreakirwin.com for more information about Andrea’s musical journey, her recorded music, upcoming shows and also www.peacerunrecords.com for tours, events and merchandise.

Andrea Kirwin and the Yama-Nui Social Club are a 13 piece ‘Island Soul’ super band that hails from South East QLD. The band performs rich orchestral renderings of Australian/Fijian Artist Andrea’s original songs from her 5 independent albums released under her record label Peace Run Records. With tight horn lines and beautiful string arrangements, AK & the YSC create a lush soundtrack to Andrea’s soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics about love, heartbreak and everything in between and you can feel the influences of Artists such as Carole King, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and other legendary Folk/Soul bands of the 60s and 70s era. Andrea’s songs are powerful and poignant, written from her perspective as an LGBTQIA+ Artist with Pacific roots and are about her life experiences. Her musical style is influenced by her upbringing as the daughter of a Fijian Preacher and Gospel harmonies are a feature in many of her songs. As an islander, Andrea has a natural prerogative to create music together as a collective and is evident in her enthusiasm to showcase the individual talents of the musicians within the Yama-Nui Social Club. There is always a good dose of improvisation in these big band shows allowing each player to shine and add their flavour to Andrea’s songs. The name of the band is a nod to Andrea’s favourite band ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ and her Yama-Nui Recording studio community. Her latest album ‘Bloom’, released in 2021 was nominated for Queensland Music Awards in the Folk and World Categories.

The musical line up of the Yama-Nui Social Club includes Dexter Hurren on Drums, Oj Newcomb on Bass, Brodie Graham on Electric guitar, Brett Orr on Keys, Angela Newcomb on back up vocals, Claire Evelynn on Celtic Harp, Tanja Hafenstein on Congas and percussion, Dyon Tahana on Alto Saxophone, Zac Hurren on Tenor Saxophone, Lee Hardisty on Tenor Saxophone and flute, Sarah King on Violin and Emma Hales on Cello.