They wouldn’t have had it any other way –  the 10-piece band thrive off the energy a live show gives them.

A packed schedule over summer last year kept them busy, but as winter rolled around they decided the time was right to take a step back from their relentless gigging and put pen to paper on some new songs, with a view to releasing a new CD in 2019.

And as summer rolls around again, so have The Northern Folk, with new single ‘Cold’.

While the single carries many of the hallmarks of the collective’s unique sound, ‘Cold’ bears a distinctly soulful edge, even in its most chaotic peaks. 

Though they’ve been playing versions of it live for nearly a year, band member James Eggleston said writing songs with so many people in the band was a unique and enjoyable challenge.

“We’ve been a live band for such a long time, the focus this year was to strip that back a bit and get back to songwriting,” he said.

“Doing that with 10 of us in the band is interesting, usually someone brings the shell of a song and we’ll piece it together from there.

“That’s the beauty of being in a big band, with more people around you wind up with a lot more interesting parts to a song, much more than you could achieve on your own.” 

The Northern Folk will bring ‘Cold’ and potentially more new material, to By the Banks festival in Albury on November 24.

After the festival was a runaway success in 2017, Eggleston said he and the band were excited to bring it back for a second year.

‘Last year was amazing, we sold out on the day and had an amazing lineup,” he said.

“We wanted it to spread the word about some great local artists, and also for Albury to have a great festival.”

Standout local acts ELK, Squid Doctors and Pablo Pace are on the lineup, alongside Timberwolf, Ben Whiting, Adam McGrath (NZ), TULLARA, Rosie Burgess Trio, The Montgomery Brothers, John Flanagan Trio, Kay Proudlove, Merpire, Mal Webb and Kylie Morrigan, FEELDS, and Patrick Lionel. 

The all-ages festival will be held at Willowbank, with tickets on sale now.