Brian Nankervis, Maxine Beneba Clarke, and Sean O’Beirne read excerpts of their acclaimed works, underscored by live music from Sally Ford and the Idiomatics.

UNDERSCORE blurs the line between music, storytelling, song and recitation as acclaimed writers perform excerpts of their work over a lush electro-acoustic soundscape provided by Sally Ford and the Idiomatics.

The live readings by writers Maxine Beneba Clark, Brian Nankervis and Sean O'Beirne are bookmarked by songs and stories from the band, featuring Sally Ford's wryly-observed lyrics of life, love and lived experience.

UNDERSCORE launched in mid-2023 at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Melbourne's Brunswick Ballroom to hugely enthusiastic audiences, and have since presented iterations of the project at Melbourne's Malthouse Outdoor Stage, Clunes Booktown Festival, The Athenaeum Library, Readings Bookstore's 50th Anniversary, Beleura House and a return performance at the Brunswick Ballroom.

"There's a special kind of intimacy here. A superbly focused and talented band with the unique combination of traditional and modern instruments (and musical styles) cradling each piece and giving it different shapes and textures." – Stage Whispers.