The curtains opened at The Toff in Town during the September edition of Communion Melbourne, to reveal Bayden Packwood Hine – one young man, surrounded by almost a dozen musicians (largely females), nervously holding a banjo.  Softly spoken, but with a humble confidence, Packwood introduced songs from his new self titled EP.

Originally hailing from Bathurst in rural NSW, it’s obvious that Bayden has a connection to the country,  from his appearance to his lyrics throughout the EP – demonstrating a strong connection to nature.  After purchasing a copy of his EP, we contacted him to organise a shoot upon his next trip to Melbourne.

Bayden’s the type of guy who makes things happen.  Within a few days he’d organised to fly down to Melbourne, as well as organising two backing vocalists at the last minute; one of which he had never sung with before.  Amongst the birds chirping, Bayden and his two lovely backing vocalists (Miriam Crellin and Charlotte Nicdao) broke into the second song off the Packwood EP, Longyearbyen.  Bayden met Charlotte and Miriam in Melbourne after playing a Sofar Sounds gig and soon after discovered they were both amazing vocalists.  Then he charmed them into his band, amongst others.

Bayden’s quirkiness and charisma makes his cleverly composed music all the more interesting.  You can see Packwood perform at The Workers Club on 27 November 2012.

Words by Charlotte Abroms.