Hatching out of Canberra, Sparrow-Folk are sure to ruffle a few feathers – the right way – in their new show, Nice Pair. Before taking the show to Melbourne Comedy Festival and beyond, hometown audiences are invited to a preview at Canberra Theatre Centre’s Courtyard Studio on 2-3 March.

Juliet Moody and Cathy Crowley make up the dynamic duo, who shot to fame when their song, Ruin Your Day, went viral in 2014. Quickly becoming an anthem, the breastfeeding ballad took the internet by storm; Moody wrote the song when she was nursing her youngest child. The experiences she had when nursing in public – from stares to rude remarks – sparked the idea, which was originally something she wrote to share with friends.

She said she had seen serious articles written on the subject of breastfeeding in public, but no one had tackled it from a comedic point of view.

“It was a real experience, it happened to me and I was feeling awful and thinking to myself ‘people should not be treating people like this’,” says Moody.

Up to that point, the pair had never performed in a proper comedy show; they had put one on in Crowley’s backyard and taken part in a chalkboard gig they had signed up for.

Moody says Sparrow-Folk hadn’t set out to find a career in comedy, originally starting out with a band as an excuse to hang out together.

“Best friends who had no time to hang out and we’re both improvisors and did a few improv shows and realised we both loved song writing and goofing around,” smiles Moody.

Introduced by a mutual friend when they were both working as drama teachers here in Canberra, the pair connected instantly. The comedy/”glam folk” pair have travelled all over entertaining audiences with their shows, created from relatable moments from their lives. Moody has four children, aged from 10 to 23, while Crowley has a six- and three-year-old. Together, their families cover the whole parenting spectrum.

Their songs and show are about all aspects of life. Before the pandemic they released a song about wearing leisure wear to formal functions. Moody says Trackie Dacks became a Covid anthem and they find things they are talking about resonate with a lot of people. 

“It’s almost like we predicted it. It’s a melting pot, we are operating in this big soup,” she says.

With a bird inspired name, the pair say they are like your everyday shopping centre feathered visitor, one you can be relaxed around. They say they are constantly watching people, gathering crumbs and morsels of information to steal other people’s mishaps like a sparrow.

“We never assumed to be the big bright male birds of paradise,” says Moody.

“We’re more relatable,” agrees Crowley.

With one of the pair flying the nest and moving interstate, working on a show has become a bit trickier these days. They say they can still catch up for a glass of wine or three over Zoom, however the delay makes it harder to harmonise. They have been teaching themselves how to navigate the distance, filming things separately and editing them together. Both agree their strength is in live performance, which is really just a catch-up of two best friends with a crowd.

“We feel with every new audience, we walk out going we are now best friends,” says Crowley.

“We like them to feel like they know us, and they’ve had a good night out with friends,” says Moody.

Wanting to shake things up, they brought on a director for their new show, with funding thanks to Arts ACT. Additional support came from Canberra Theatre Centre with the use of their space to really incubate the performance.

Guests to their Thursday night show are in for a treat, the launch of the Sparrow-Folk podcast, what the women say is the first and only narrative musical podcast to come out Canberra. Adventures in SuBIRDia follows two middle-aged suburban-based women, Fox (Crowley) and Lark (Moody), as they dream of super stardom, armed with their ukuleles.

With the world slowly waking back up from the pandemic haze, Sparrow-Folk say there is no better time to grab your bestie, make a pair and share in some laughs at a live show. With a pair that made it big singing about breastfeeding, nothing is off the cards.

“We sometimes reveal things to the other person that they’re only hearing for the first time,” says Moody.

“You could see a therapist, or you could come see a comedy show,” smiles Crowley.

Join the fun with Sparrow-Folk in Nice Pair at The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, 2-3 March; canberratheatrecentre.com.au

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