The Boundary Riders Album Review

Wow! What an inspirational woman! No, I’m not talking about the colourful characters of Rachel Dawick’s album The Boundary Riders – Musical Tales of New Zealand Pioneer Woman; I’m talking about the artist herself. Not only has Dawick set about giving a voice to the forgotten forging women of our country; Dawick has also raised funding, travelled the nation cycling 2000kms to dig up the stories of our pioneering past… truly inspiring. Delivering a beautifully packaged album and subsequently a book also; The Boundary Riders delves deep into our past and gives weight to the lives of ladies untold, like Barbara Weldon, Elizabeth Colenso and Amy Bock. Split over two discs, the rich narrative that Dawick has created is split into an album containing the show performance and songs and also the songs on a separate disc on their own so just can just get into the excellent down-home NZ folk, blues-country and at times Bluegrassy feels.

There’s a stunning display of song writing and musicianship on display here (Dawick studied extensively overseas to hone her craft and it shows!) with everything from saloon-drawl groove to spicy bhangra melodies. Dawick is not alone in her musical prowess she is accompanied by Jon Sander, Dave Kahn, Chris Koole, Andy Laking and the delightful Steve Bretel as the Narrator of the show; bringing a well-rounded group from various musical backgrounds to create one unique and important whole. A lovely touch to such a vitally messaged piece, The Boundary Riders has been released to coincide with celebrations of NZ Women’s Vote Day 1893; with a broad listing of solo and full band performances of the show coming up in October. A real earthy and important NZ album to check into.