(Photo: Jane Erkens)
October 5, 2026
by Russell Sturgess
What can only be described as “perfect weather” turned up for this year’s Bunya Mountains Community Association’s “Play Music On Nature’s Porch” celebration … 2024 was unbelievably hot, 2025 was unbelievably cold, but 2026 was … almost perfect!
The beauty of the upgraded environment at Dandabah, perfect weather, beautiful environment, and a delightful array of musicians provided the ingredients for a truly wonderful day.
The MC for the day was Carolyn Tillman, the recently retired councillor of the Western Downs Regional Council (27 years) who continues to be a devoted volunteer to the arts.
The marques / grass stage became the focal point as members of the audience seated themselves on a mixture of camping chairs and plots of grass to enjoy the diverse array of performances.
The day began with the stalwart performers, The Shedders, from Nanango. This was their third year at Music On Nature’s Porch, and even though there were fewer participants they didn’t disappoint.
The Shedders are a group of local Nanango musicians who regularly practice together and perform whenever the opportunity presents. They performed on a couple of occasions throughout the day.
They were followed by Sing Australia – South Burnett. Sing Australia is a national organisation that “accepts that everyone can sing and it makes no judgment on how well that happens”.
They, too, performed on a couple of occasions through the day and their fellowship and love of music was beautifully translated into their thoroughly enjoyable and enthusiastic performances.
Also performing twice on the day were Kathy Lee and Jo Cosgrove. They played a mixture of bluegrass and folk. Their guitar and fiddle renditions of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” and “Mairi’s Wedding” among others, definitely had the audience jiggling in their chairs.
Another duo, Colin and Delyth Boyd, part-time Bunya Mountains locals and highly accomplished musicians, graced the stage with what was possibly their first “string” performance on instruments they recently decided to learn to play with the Redcliffe U3A String Group.
Colin, on the cello, and Delyth, on the violin, capably performed various styles including classical and ballad. Their only challenge was the wind and their music stands!
The stage was also graced by two teenage solo performers.
The first was Year 12 oboe player Tempest Lott, who hails from Kumbia. One of her pieces, “Gabriel’s Oboe”, is from the 1986 movie, The Mission. She also played classical pieces.
The other teenage soloist musician was German exchange student Leah Lauterbach who played the saxophone.
There were two other brief performances at “The Porch”. The Bunya Singers are a group of locals who on occasion (Anzac Day and Christmas Carols) get to perform.
At their first Porch performance, they presented a piece of music, the words of which were written many years ago by local resident and Natural History Association chairperson, Meg Noack, capturing her feelings about what could best be called the “spirit of the Bunyas”.
Last year we took to liberty to include Bush Poetry in our program, and regular Bunya Mountains visitor Cam Jefferies presented a piece he had written about a special encounter he had
experienced with an eagle.
In addition to the stage performances, Dalby Bunnings kindly provided a children’s activity space to do arts and craft. There was a steady stream of participants.
Footnote: Play Music On The Porch Day is an annual global event held on the last Saturday of August where musicians and music lovers step outside to play and share music in their communities.
[Photos: Jane Erkens]
