It’s always at roughly this time of year that I am looking for an escape, some motivation, maybe a bit of inspiration too. I see the autumn leaves falling from the trees and feel the cold wind upon my face as I walk to work in the mornings. I’ve got a spring in my step though. Iron and Wine, Blue King Brown, Xavier Rudd and Will Conner create the soundtrack to my days. It’s not just that I’m on a lo-fi and acoustic binge at the moment, I’m thoroughly entranced. Bring on the mid-year festivals… Roll on Blues & Roots festival. I’m there already!

Weekend Sessions 3 was released in Australian shops on the 3rd of March. It’s got 16 racks of lazy Sunday songs; beer garden tunes and generally heart warming, creative tracks for bringing out the smiles and the shuffling feet. Regardless of if you are a board rider or not, you’ll love this album. It’s got everything going for it from guitar to rock, to reggae, blues, acoustic, and funnily enough, the more you listen to it the more it grows on you.

Check out the new track by Michael Franti and Spearhead, ‘I’ve Been Away’. It has been exclusively leaked for Weekend Sessions 3 from their forthcoming album. Blue King Brown from Melbourne can almost make me taste the sea salt with their track ‘Water’, while Nine Mile from Canada bring back the reggae beats filled with happiness. Like most other Aussies, I’m a fan of Xavier Rudd and his presence on the album with the song ‘Messages’ doesn’t disappoint.

Make sure you have a careful listen to the lyrics of Tristan Prettyman on track 16, ‘Melting’. It’s such a beautiful song and her voice is almost as soothing as the crystal clear surface of the ocean at sunrise on the East Coast. Finally, and probably most importantly, Will Conner plays one of the most powerful songs on Weekend Sessions 3. His track ‘Herd’ is enough to bring environmental consciousness to the foreground of even the most unlikely of candidate’s minds.

I’d heard of the previous Weekend Session’s albums over the years, but never got the chance to have a listen before. After having listened to this album constantly for the past week, I’ve decided that it is absolutely imperative that I get my hands on the earlier compilations. I’m sure that they will excite me just as much as Weekend Session’s 3 has done. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Get your goon bag groove and get into it.