Penelope Swales and Chris Jobe take two-part harmony singing to the next level with their new duo Frolic and Detour. Penelope’s rich contralto blends beautifully with Chris’s sweet tenor, backed up with a blend of guitar, ukulele and whistle. Penelope is a long-term folk stalwart with ten albums and many years touring behind her. In his twenties, Chris leapt around the Melbourne underground scene before plying his musical skills as a teacher and an exclusive entertainer for his children. They play quirky originals and eccentric covers with the odd hard-hitting political number thrown in, mixing hilarity with heart.

 

PENELOPE SWALES is an award-winning songwriter and performer who has been knocking around the folk scene since the late 90’s. She has put out 10 solo albums and toured all over the world both solo and with her all-gourd extravaganza band Totally Gourdgeous, with whom she has also released 5 albums. She won the 2019 Alistair Hulett Songs for Social Justice Award for her song Cambridge Analytica, and Totally Gourdgeous won the 2008 Folk Alliance Australia Members Choice Award for Best live Act. She lives in Boolarra with her partner, guitar maker Jack Spira and runs a small market garden. She had a brief and perplexing career as a lawyer but regrets she is unable to give legal advice via Facebook.

 

CHRIS JOBE is a songwriter and music teacher hailing from the Bass Coast of Victoria. He started playing in bands as a teenager and played all over Melbourne from 1994 to 2008 in various line-ups including 10 years in Melbourne underground sensation Oscar. In 2008 he became a father and started playing to a more select audience with such stellar domestic hits as “You Make Me So Happy (Even When You Shit Your Nappy)”, “Scrunchy the Wonder Lamb” and “You Gotta Wait for the Toast to Toast.” During lockdowns he began collaborating online, which inspired him to get back out and start playing live again.

 

The name “Frolic and Detour” comes from a legal doctrine that quantifies just how much damage an employer should be liable for when employees goof off and start doing their own thing.