The Runaway Strings are proud to announce the release of their debut album ‘Blackwood’, an intimate yet  raucous collection of songs encompassing country, bluegrass and traditional folk. Recorded live, acoustic  and entirely in one day, ‘Blackwood’ captures a band embracing immediacy, honesty and the raw chemistry  of musicians playing together in a room. Named after the forest and bushland surroundings where the  album was recorded, ‘Blackwood’ is a record rooted in authenticity.  

Across the album, expert musicianship meets sharp storytelling and an unmistakably human perspective.  Each song stands as its own self-contained story, populated by vivid characters (some real, some not so  much) navigating many of life’s strange yet familiar emotions, frustrations and absurdities. 

From the sarcastic shift worker counting the minutes in “Living the Dream,” to the bitter pub musician  battling an indifferent crowd in “Give Up, Don’t Try,” to the painfully modern struggle of promoting  anything beneath the gaze of tech giants in “Come On Feel The Algorithm,” ‘Blackwood’ exposes humour,  heart and truth in equal measure. 

Formed in 2023 during a chance encounter on Halloween, The Runaway Strings came together through  coincidence and shared musical instinct. Core members Peter and Jiah (husband and wife) had already  spent years playing music together when a spontaneous front-porch banjo session led to the meeting of  third member Lionel, turning a costumed Halloween night into the band’s current incarnation.  

‘Blackwood’ was recorded at Greenhills Sound studio in Blackwood, VIC with Bobby Bravington. It  was produced by Peter Harrison, with mixing and engineering by Bobby, with mastering by Nao Anzai. 

Between its three members, The Runaway Strings have played the likes of the National Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, and Guildford Banjo Jamboree, also opening for Tim Scanlan. The trio  have enjoyed praise from the likes of Americana Highways, Broken 8 Music and airplay across 2SER,  Radio Adelaide, 4ZZZ, RTR, PBS and many more. Their most recent single ‘Baby When It’s Gone, It’s  Gone’ also cracked the AMRAP National, Regional and Country / Blues / Roots charts. 

Blackwood is avaible for steaming on:

Bandcamp | Spotify

THE RUNAWAY STRINGS are:

Jiah Harrison (banjo, ukulele) Lionel Holt (banjo) Peter Harrison (guitar, vocals, harmonica) 

THE RUNAWAY STRINGS ONLINE:

Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp 

Album artwork: Julia Johnson (@yellowponyau) 
Photo: Ainsley Cameron