John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew are an Australian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

group formed in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 2005. The band's name is taken from a line in

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

's poem "Knocking Around". Since it was founded a number of Australian musicians have been involved. The formation of the group marked the return of

John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a s ...

, former

Redgum Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Ch ...

frontman to regular performances and recording.

Recordings

As of 2013, the band has released two albums. Both have consisted of either

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

or poems set to music. The first, Lawson, was a collection of

poems put to music. This marked the first collaboration between

, Hugh McDonald, and Michael Atkinson since Schumann left

back in 1986. Their second album was Behind the Lines, an album based largely around the theme of Australians at war. It also featured Hugh McDonald, although Michael Atkinson did not participate.

Other activities

The band provided the music for "Lawson", a one-man stage show by

Max Cullen Max Cullen (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film '' Spider and Rose'' and the television series '' The Flying Docto ...

based on the life of

. They played in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to mark the 40th anniversary of the

Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units ...

, the most famous engagement involving Australians during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The group has played many concerts and festivals, especially around Anzac Day. They have also played overseas for Australian forces several times. In December 2009 they visited

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

to play for Australian and New Zealand troops stationed there, in September–October 2011 they played for Australian troops in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and in July 2013 they played for Australian troops and Australian Federal Police in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

.Department of Defens
One last show before curtain draws on Operation ANODE 26 July 2013
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Discography

Studio albums

*'' Lawson'' (2005) *'' Behind the Lines'' (August, 2008)

References

External links

Hugh McDonald's web siteThe official site for the "Lawson" albumThe band's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew Australian folk music groups Musical groups established in 2005