The Irwell Street String Band was a Melbourne acoustic swing quartet active from 2008 to 2013, founded by vocalist Hetty Kate and guitarist Sam Lemann with Andy Baylor and Leigh Barker. Built around guitar, ukulele, mandolin and double bass, the band explored jazz standards and lesser-heard songs from the 1930s to the 1950s. Across five years they recorded two albums, performed at festivals and jazz venues around Australia, and received radio play in Australia, Europe and the United States.
The band's second album expanded the quartet's interest in less frequently heard repertoire from the 1940s and 1950s, with a song selected by each member. The instrumentation moves between guitar, ukulele, mandolin and double bass beneath Hetty Kate's vocal, while the repertoire includes material associated with Harry James, Django Reinhardt and Flanagan and Allen. Recorded all in one room at Fatsound Studio on vintage equipment with minimal takes and edits, the album sold through its first pressing and went to a second.
Recorded across two nights at Fatsound Studio in North Melbourne, the debut brought together voice, guitar, ukulele, mandolin and double bass in an entirely acoustic setting. The programme moves from the Great American Songbook to Latin popular song and other repertoire the group was exploring at the time. Released under the names Hetty Kate and Sam Lemann, with Andy Baylor and Leigh Barker, it was Hetty Kate's first album appearance. The record received airplay in Australia, Europe and the United States, including a feature on Russell Davies' BBC Radio 2 programme, and the physical edition sold out within twelve months.
The Irwell Street String Band formed in Melbourne, Australia in June 2008 around vocalist Hetty Kate and guitarist Sam Lemann, with Australian music legend Andy Baylor on rhythm guitar and mandolin and Leigh Barker on double bass. The name came from Irwell Street in St Kilda, where Hetty and Sam's friendship had developed over long brunches before the group was formed.
The instrumentation was central to the project: guitar, ukulele, mandolin and double bass, with voice, no drums and no amplification. The quartet worked as an acoustic string band, drawing repertoire from the 1930s to the 1950s across the Great American Songbook, wartime British popular song and South American material. Contemporary descriptions often compared the voice-and-guitar approach with Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour, Julie London and Barney Kessel, and Mary Ford and Les Paul.
The band's two albums were recorded all in one room at Barry Stockley's Fatsound Studio in North Melbourne using vintage analogue equipment and minimal takes and edits. A Late Brunch On Irwell Street appeared in 2009 under the names Hetty Kate and Sam Lemann, featuring Baylor and Barker. 11:60pm followed in February 2011 under The Irwell Street String Band name. The first album sold out in hard copy within twelve months; the second went to a further pressing.
During its active years the group appeared at jazz, swing and ukulele festivals and at clubs and concert rooms in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Recordings were broadcast in Australia and internationally, including BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom, WMNR-FM in Connecticut, Radio Jazz in England and Trad. Jazz Radio in Germany.
The project wound down after Andy Baylor moved to Sydney and Leigh Barker moved to Paris. This website preserves the recordings, a selection of photographs, live footage, credits and contemporary reception of the band as a completed chapter of its members' musical work. Sam Lemann is still very active in Melbourne and touring Australia, you can enjoy his beautiful playing at his Youtube Channel Sam on YouTube. For Hetty Kate's current recordings and performances around the world, visit hettykate.com.
Archive note: Irwell Street is in St Kilda, Melbourne, and gave the band its name. Hetty Kate and Sam Lemann had many champagne brunches in St Kilda, bonding over a shared love of beautiful songs from yesteryear. The recordings were made at Fatsound Studio in North Melbourne.
Easy going jazz, as bright and sparkling as a summer's day.Richard Fields · 3CR Melbourne
A brilliant album that will stand the test of time.Brian Harvey · Radio Jazz, England
The happy swing of this music is gentle and enchanting.H. William Stine · WMNR-FM, Connecticut
All the favourites were there, but with such an individual twist.Ann Creber · Spectrum Radio, Melbourne
A breath of fresh air.Joel Carnegie · 3MBS 103.5FM Melbourne
Hetty swings along and takes us for a joyful ride.Steve Robertson · 3RPC Portland
Like taking a step back into the 1920s.Tianna Nadalin · 3MDR 97.1FM Melbourne
The accompanying guitar work was clean and tasteful.Sean Moyses · Trad. Jazz Radio, Germany
Photographs by Trudy Schuringa