More than 16,000km away at a music festival on the south coast of England the Germein sisters, Georgia, Ella and Clara, are playing on stage to a sea of thousands of music lovers.
The lights and buzz of the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival is a world away from the Indie pop trio’s family home at Scott Creek, but despite the distance their fondness for home never leaves.
Aside from the friends, family and pets they miss while jet-setting to gigs around the globe, there’s one simple thing they long for while on tour – good coffee.
“There’s nothing quite like a fresh Australian coffee from a local cafe in the Adelaide Hills,” says lead vocalist Georgia.
The band Germein, comprising Georgia on guitar and keys, Ella on bass and cello and Clara on drums, has spent the past decade touring the world with their upbeat melodies and cheerful sound.
They recently travelled abroad to open for music icons Sting, Blondie, Tom Jones and Jools Holland at events around the UK.
Despite the craziness of Covid, it ended up being a really nice forced break for us, and has made us even more appreciative of our home and community in the Adelaide Hills…
Georgia Germein
Among their stints was Lancashire’s Lytham Festival, a “pinch me” moment for the sisters, as well as The Great Escape in Brighton, Tunes in the Dunes in Cornwall and Isle of Wight.
This year marks the sister band’s seventh appearance at the renowned Isle of Wight, sharing the line-up over the years with music stalwarts such as Queen and Fleetwood Mac.
“We’ll never forget our first year playing on the festival stage and being so young and nervous but every year our confidence and audience has continued to grow,” says Georgia.
“This year was particularly special for us because we played eight shows in total, including opening the main stage headlined by Anne Marie, George Ezra and The Chemical Brothers.
“It’s mind-blowing to get to play at these huge festivals on the line up with so many iconic artists.”
Germein’s new single Suitcase, which was written, recorded and produced in their Adelaide Hills studio, delivers the upbeat sound filled with their renowned harmonies and earthy tones.
The siblings’ return to the international stage follows a lengthy pause in their travels due to Covid-19.
When the pandemic began, the band had been touring almost non-stop for several years.
But like many others grounded with uncertainty, Georgia, Ella and Clara found themselves cancelling flights, tours and staying home.
It proved to be their biggest challenge yet, with the lockdowns and travel restrictions forcing the sisters to think of new ways of sharing their music.
“It was definitely a hard time as artists, but it forced us to think creatively and gave us space to work on new music and experiment with different sounds and ideas in our home studio,” Georgia says.
“We also collaborated with other artists around the world on a project we called the ‘Sister Sessions’ where we would perform a song together online and release it digitally to each other’s fan bases.
“We also performed a virtual world tour with Live Nation from one of our favourite Adelaide venues, The Gov, which was broadcast in over 30 countries.”
Spending time at home among the gum trees wasn’t so bad.
“Being at home in the Adelaide Hills was a pretty wonderful place to be grounded,” Georgia says.
“I remember how crazy it was to witness the seasons changing throughout 2020/2021, as we’d mostly been chasing the summer for so many years. We found a lot of joy in the simple things like watching the garden grow, and each of us spent a lot of time planting veggies or working outside on the farm.
“Despite the craziness of Covid, it ended up being a really nice forced break for us, and has made us even more appreciative of our home and community in the Adelaide Hills, as well as the amazing people and places we get to meet and travel to on our adventures abroad.”
Wrapping up their UK tour in August, the sisters will return to home soil before embarking on a tour of Australia and NZ.
In October they will open for Irish pop/rock outfit The Corrs, a four-piece family band to which Germein has long been favourably compared.
It was early in their musical careers when Billy Farrell, an Irish producer who had worked with The Corrs, came across Georgia, Ella and Clara, impressed by their catchy melodies and pop folk sound.
Soon came their debut single Because You Breathe, a light-filled song that caught the attention of industry and music lovers, setting them on an international trajectory.
Since then the band – originally named Germein Sisters – has gone from strength to strength, mastering their sound and style. But two factors have remained constant throughout their musical journey – their sibling bond and appreciation for home.
