Making for a strong pairing, Busby Marou and Winter People share the rare ability to create truly emotional and intricate folk-inspired music. Playing to a packed out and openly adoring crowd on Friday night at The Gaelic, both acts proved themselves to have succeeded in landing upon their own distinctive sound. They also proved themselves to be captivating performers, treating us to their repertoires with absolute joy and enthusiasm.

First up were Winter People, a fresh-faced six piece hailing from Sydney. While their set mostly consisted of melody driven folksy numbers, the band also showed off their flair for playing blues and heavier guitar based tunes. Opening with the sweet and harmonic “Valley Hymn”, Winter People continued to perform an array of songs that made the most of the talents of all band members. Indeed, the band stands apart from others for its two lovely violinists, the ethereal tinkering of tambourine and xylophone, and lead singer Dyland Baskind’s strong, emotional voice. With the rest of the band members providing soft back-up harmonies to Baskin’s strong and unique vocals, the end result is a mix of endearing, beautiful tunes.

Winter People’s single “Wishingbone” stood as a sure crowd favourite, drawing everyone in with its infectious, upbeat melody. “My Town” also gained a huge applause, astounding the audience with its expressive vocal harmonies, interesting rhythms and delicate strings. Ending the set with the more upbeat number “Gallons”, Winter People had the crowd thoroughly impressed. Their set may have been relatively short, yet it was certainly a strong and memorable one.

Following, and living up to, the strong precedent that Winter People had set were Busby Marou, Drawing upon folk, pop, blues and roots, the four piece’s music has a breezy, beach campfire vibe to it. Playing sweet, catchy songs, Busby Marou are instantly enjoyable regardless of how well you know them. While the band played some of their songs acoustically, mostly focusing on their vocal harmonies, many of the songs were endowed with a greater intensity than is heard on their self-titled debut album.

“All of You” was played to the crowd’s great excitement, as well as the band’s hit single “Biding My Time”. While these tunes have a sweet simplicity to them, they are enhanced by the remarkable instrumentals which included a guitar section, percussion and even harmonica at times. On top of through the merits of the their own songwriting skills, Busby Marou’s name has risen with their covers of “Better Be Home Soon” for the He Will Have His Way compilation and of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” for Triple J’s Like A Version. Their version of the Finn Brothers’ hit song was hugely appreciated by the crowd, with Thomas Busby and Jeremy Marou’s vocals perfectly suited to the sincerity that the song demands. “Girl Just Want To Have Fun” brought out the band’s more playful side, with the band members performing the pop song with immense enjoyment.

Towards the end of the set Busby Marou’s songs may have seemed a bit too indistinguishable at times, yet this isn’t to say that each and every song was delivered with great skill and feeling. A wonderful night that celebrated the joys of stunning vocal harmonies and intricate guitar work, both Winter People and Busby Marou did a perfect job of playing inspiring, uplifting sets.