Broken Creek Named Duo of the Year — Celebrating Folk, Community, and a New EP at The G.R.A.I.N. Store

Victorian folk duo Broken Creek — made up of Picola-based musicians Erin and Lachlan Heycox — have been named Duo of the Year at the 2025 Australian Folk Music Awards, recognising their contribution to Australian folk music and their deep connection to regional storytelling. 

“It was quite shocking, honestly,” says singer and fiddler Erin Heycox. “We knew the other artists — a lot of them we’ve gigged with or collaborated with — and they’re incredible. Our energy this past year has been about building up and celebrating local arts: doing a residency in Echuca and writing about Shinbone Alley shantytown, running songwriting workshops with students in Nathalia, and even being part of an SBS documentary that ended in a bush dance in a shearing shed.” 

The award celebrates not just Broken Creek’s artistry but the vibrant regional arts ecosystem that nurtures it. 

“A healthy music ecosystem is one that’s really diverse,” says guitarist and banjo player Lachlan Heycox. “You can have bands doing stadium shows, but you also need artists creating small, meaningful gigs that connect deeply with people — singing about local landmarks and stories that no one else is telling. This award recognises that kind of contribution. Local specificity is powerful.” 

Local roots, national recognition 

Broken Creek will launch their new EP Folk from the Archive: Sally Sloane on Saturday 22nd November at The G.R.A.I.N. Store alongside Melbourne-based banjo/fiddle duo and “fellow creek band” Corn Nut Creek.  

“Folk music is different to commercial music because you connect with every person in the room,” Erin explains. “When you play in a space like The G.R.A.I.N. Store, you know who you’re singing to — you’ve shared stories, cups of tea, and probably helped set up chairs or sweep the floor together. It’s the opposite of putting a song on the internet and hoping someone cares. You see faces, you feel reactions, you build something real.” 

“The G.R.A.I.N. Store keeps the folk ecology alive,” Lachlan adds. “We’ve toured all over the Australia, and honestly, there’s nothing quite like a G.R.A.I.N. Store audience. Other musicians say the same thing. It’s something Nathalia should be incredibly proud of.” 

Digging into the archives 

Their new release, Folk from the Archive: Sally Sloane, draws from field recordings and song collections preserved in the National Library of Australia. 

“We found Folk Songs of Australia in a dusty op-shop,” Erin recalls. “I was looking for the women of the bush — up until then I’d only ever heard the men’s stories: convicts, bushrangers, shearers. I wanted to know what the women were singing — what my own ancestors might have sung. 

Sally and I share a lot: we’re both regional women, both fiddlers, both singers who’ve played for local dances. Bringing her songs through my voice is a way of honouring that lineage.” 

Reimagined with Broken Creek’s cinematic arrangements for banjo, fiddle, voice, and double bass, the album explores the timeless emotions — love, loss, humour, and endurance — while connecting them to life in regional Australia today. 

“These songs have survived because they say something,” Erin says. “They’re not throwaway culture — they’re gold, just waiting in the archives for someone to listen.” 

A living, evolving folk tradition 

For Broken Creek, folk music is not about nostalgia but connection. 

“Folk music holds all three — the past, the present, and the future,” Erin says. “We sing The Gathering Wool about my dad shearing a thousand sheep before the 2022 floods. In fifty years, that’ll be a historical story, but right now it’s about resilience and change. It connects generations — and maybe it helps us imagine what comes next.” 

“It’s important to balance humour and heart,” she adds. “That’s how you shake people out of the everyday. A good song should make you laugh, then make you think. That mix lets people drop their guard for a moment, and that’s when real connection happens.” 

‘Folk from the Archive’ EP Launch with Corn Nut Creek — The G.R.A.I.N. Store, Nathalia 

📅 Saturday 22nd November. Doors open at 6:30pm  
📍 The G.R.A.I.N. Store, 24 Blake St, Nathalia 
🎟️ Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/DEFLY  

The concert will feature live performances from Folk from the Archive: Sally Sloane, stories from the duo’s journey through the archives, and a celebration of their recent national award win. They’ll be joined by Nick Henderson on double bass, bringing the album’s lush arrangements to life, and special guests Corn Nut Creek rounding out the night with their beautifully crafted harmonies and banjo-fiddle duets.