James Taylor's songs are bookmarks in many people’s lives, and Darren Coggan takes seriously his responsibility to recreate the songs as accurately as possible.

The result is the show Fire and Rain - The James Taylor Songbook, which is playing at the Echuca Paramount Theatre on Saturday, March 28 at 7.30pm.

I’m Riv journalist Jaci Hicken, and in this episode of The RIV talks … I spoke to Darren about his long Australian music career, his love for the songs of James Taylor and his show Fire and Rain - The James Taylor Songbook.

McPherson Media Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across our regions and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

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In this episode of The Riv talks … we have spent some time with three of the acts performing at the 2026 Riverboats Music Festival - Norwood, Queenie and Merpire. 

Norwood is an alternative folk band from Melbourne, featuring singer-songwriters Olivia Bolmat and Nathaniel Peacock. Formed through a shared admiration of upfront lyricism and inseparable harmonies, Olivia and Nathaniel have always aimed to create songs that find weight in their unassuming tenderness. We spoke to Liv (Olivia) from Norwood. 

Queenie’s 2024 debut album New Moult is a melting pot of immersive soundscapes, raw emotion and powerhouse vocals - an unflinching statement of arrival from one of Australia’s most exciting new voices. 

Merpire, the moniker of Melbourne-based artist Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, creates music that lives somewhere between the rom-com and horror movie sections of her mind.

To take a listen to all of these Australian artists, pop over to Bandcamp

The Riverboats Music Festival 2026 is on February 13 to 15, 2026, in Echuca, Victoria. 

McPherson Media Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across our regions and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, RIV Talks visited the Border Flywheelers Club heritage Museum at Barham.

And caught up with Malcolm Boyd, who, along with his wife Lynn and another member, Gwen, is a curator at the museum.

The Border Flywheelers Heritage Museum is a place you could spend more than a couple of hours at exploring the local past, which is being preserved for the future by a dedicated bunch of volunteers.

We started with Malcolm turning on the Auffiren Refrigeration machine, which was used by the German Army in World War I and somehow ended up in Barham.

McPherson Media Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across our regions and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Echuca-Moama story is tied to the many river boats that call the mighty Murray River home.

One of those boats is the PS Alexander Arbuthnot, which was first built in 1916 as a barge before being commissioned as a paddle steamer in 1923.

In 1947, the PS Alexander Arbuthnot sank, then was salvaged in 1972.

The remarkable story of the PS Alexander Arbuthnot's salvage has been chronicled in a book by Helene Sutherland, ‘The Salvage of the Alexander Arbuthnot’.

The ambitious salvage effort commenced in June 1972, spearheaded by Mrs Sutherland's husband John, who lived by the motto 'possible we do straight away, miracles take a little longer.'

RIV TALKS spoke to Mrs Sutherland, sharing the story of this remarkable salvage.

McPherson Media Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across our regions and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Wonderland on the Murray', a spectacular sand sculpture trail featuring scenes from Alice in Wonderland, running from December 13, 2025 to March 9, 2026 in Echuca Moama.

The trail, stretching between the historic Port of Echuca and Kerrabee Reserve in Moama, will showcase eight large-scale handcrafted sand installations created by Sandstorm Events.

The collaboration between Murray River Council, Campaspe Shire Council and Campaspe Port Enterprise brings this unique exhibition to the twin towns.

Sandstorm Events director Sharon Redmond has spent 25 years building Australia's premier sand sculpting company from humble beginnings at a not-for-profit organisation.

McPherson Media Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across our regions and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.