Although The Acfields have developed a national reputation by regularly touring throughout Australia, the pair’s performance at Thirty-three on Hickory will be their first for the region since the duo formed in mid-2012, after years of working as solo singer-songwriters.

“It took a few years for us to decide to put our differences aside and start working together”, said Dan.

“We’ve lived in different cities for several years now; Hannah lives in Melbourne and I’m based in Brisbane.”

Despite living apart, through the use of modern technology and a lot of hard work, The Acfields’ discography so far includes a five-track EP and a full length album, which was released last year.

The Acfields’ latest release and reason for touring is the heartfelt tune ‘The Years’.  Displaying the siblings’ prowess for storytelling through song, The Years is a touching true story of an elderly divorced couple that reunited again after they both suffered from dementia, even though they could not recall each other.

“The song does fit in with a bit of a theme that emerged on the album,” added Dan, who co-wrote the song with Hannah.

“It wasn’t intentional, but a lot of the songs had a message which basically honoured previous generations of people in some way or another.” 

Following the loss of two grandparents within the same year, it is no wonder that both Dan and Hannah felt compelled to write about their loss, and indeed this was reflected in their self-titled album released in 2014. In doing so, they have chosen to depart from the norm in which youth is glorified, and have conversely tackled topics related to mortality, from a refreshing perspective of positivity and gratitude.

The Acfields play this Saturday in Dorrigo at 33 on Hickory, 6:30pm.