About
The Water Runners is a folk band for hire in Kiama, NSW.
Original Australian songs, mostly, drawn from four albums. The Water Runners are a Kiama folk band whose sound sits where bluegrass, country, traditional folk and roots overlap, with only a few carefully chosen covers in the mix. Songs like Murrumbidgee, The Braidwood Mail, Kate Kelly's Dream and Eureka come with the storytelling and warm stage banter the band is known for. They were voted Best Band at the Australian National Busking Championships in 2020 and were runners-up in the FAA People's Choice in 2025. Festivals, corporate events and community shows are the fit. They're a concert act, playing to an audience that came to listen. Insured.
Watch
The show
Concert style playing for an audience that came to listen. The Water Runners work at the meeting point of bluegrass, country, traditional folk and roots, and most of what you hear is original Australian songwriting drawn from four albums, with a handful of chosen covers alongside. Vivid storytelling and warm banter between numbers are as much a part of the show as the playing. They have appeared at Woodford Folk Festival, Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival, Fleurieu Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival and Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the Australian National Busking Championships named them Best Band in 2020. Corporate functions, conferences, launches, cultural events and community celebrations are the natural fit, with a respectful acknowledgment of First Nations people woven through.
On the day
Their preference is a venue supplied PA and backline. The band do own a system and can bring it along if that suits your setup better. Say which way your venue is set up when you make contact and they will work to it.
Song list
Murrumbidgee
The Braidwood Mail
Kate Kelly's Dream
Eureka
Sail On
