"For us being at Woodford from an early age, seeing so many shows — you walk into a tent and you just start dancing. That's the feeling we try to put into our shows, because we know how great that feels." — Tjaka

Geoff, Jake and Felix of Tjaka know exactly what a Woodford crowd feels like. They've been standing in one since they were kids. In 2024, they found out what it looks like from the other side.

They are, in the truest sense, Woodford babies — kids who watched their dad perform on the Grande and the Amphitheatre stages, who spent years in the crowd absorbing everything from eight-piece jazz funk bands to carrot flutes before they ever set foot on a Woodford stage themselves. In 2024, that changed. Tjaka played four shows, including New Year's Eve just after the countdown, and the crowd went exactly as wild as they always knew it would.

Harley Breen sits down with the three of them for a conversation that's as warm and chaotic as a Tjaka set. They talk about how a dislocated elbow, a radio show, and a very long friendship between families became a band. About touring Taiwan, playing The Great Escape in the UK, and still stacking yoghurt in the dairy aisle twenty-four hours after a sold-out show. About the Didjeribone — Charlie McMahon's slide didgeridoo invention, made from PVC pipe, capable of ten keys in one, and apparently a serious conversation starter with airport security.

And they talk about what Woodford actually does to musicians who've grown up inside it: how the diversity, the energy, and the sheer what-the-hell-is-this-and-why-do-I-love-it magic of the festival becomes a philosophy of performance.

This episode is for:

• Anyone who has stood in a tent at Woodford and had their mind completely changed by something they never would have chosen
• People who believe the best artists are the ones who grew up loving live music first
• Anyone who wants to hear a slide didgeridoo improvised live in a podcast studio

Dive in to hear about:

• The Didjeribone — Charlie McMahon's slide didgeridoo invention, how it works, why it's perfect carry-on luggage, and the airport security performances it keeps generating
• What happens when your own band is recommended to you by a stranger in a beer queue
• The gap between "we're going on a national tour" and "I am stacking yoghurt in a supermarket right now" — and why Felix thinks he's already won anyway
• How a dislocated elbow, a missed psychology exam, and a lifelong friendship became the origin story of Tjaka
• Why Woodford crowds hit differently when you've spent your whole life in them

To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/

FOR MORE: Harley Breen: https://www.harleybreen.com.au

Tjaka: https://tjaka.bandcamp.com/music 

Charlie McMahon, and the Didjeribone: https://www.charliemcmahon.com/ https://didjeribone.com/ 

CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guests: Geoff Fabila, Jake Fabila and Felix Fogarty of Tjaka | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Georgia Shaw, Amelie Barham, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Sound Editing: Keiron Atkinson | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country

Key topics: Tjaka band, Woodford Folk Festival performers, Didjeribone, Charlie McMahon, contemporary First Nations music, independent music careers, live performance culture

#RadioWoodfordia #Tjaka #HarleyBreen #WoodfordFolkFestival #Woodfordia #Didjeribone #CharlieMcMahon #FirstNationsMusic #AustralianMusic #IndieMusic #FolkFestival #LiveMusic #Podcast #WoodfordBabies

Join the Woodfordian Citizens:

Perks -

- Bi-Monthly emails sharing the ins and outs of the world of Woodfordia and the people who keep the heart beating.

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- Bonus podcast content

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- Early access to workshop bookings at Woodford Folk Festival

Visit: woodfordia.org/woodfordia/become-a-citizen

More information at www.woodfordia.org

For the festival: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com

For Harley: https://www.harleybreen.com.au/

Credits:

Host: Harley Breen

Executive Producers: Bree Hickson-Jamieson, Josh Weier, Benny Wallington

Audio mastering: Kieron Atkinson

Music by: The East Pointers

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