UPCOMING SHOWS

Who are you and where are you from? You’d think the two most commonly asked questions throughout time would be answered by now. But then, what would we write songs about…  

The current snapshot sees Maike in Naarm (Melbourne), surrounded by the most talented guns in all the land, she says, biased. The Cactus Flowers are: Mark McCartney on guitar (John Dowler’s Vanity Project, Joe Meares), Matthew Cotter on drums (Even, Bagful of Beez), Nicholas Pollock (Dog With Wheels) on keys, Julien Chick (John John Dowler’s Vanity Project, Blackbirds FC) on bass, and Paul Thomas on pedal steel (Huxton Creepers, Weddings Parties Anything).

The last couple of years have been exciting and fulfilling, seeing the band play festivals (Port Fairy, Dashville Skyline, Leaps and Bounds, Brunswick Music Festival, and The Eighty-Six), or touring Spain in 2024, supporting their longtime heroes, The Jayhawks, for a few dates, and the cherry on top – playing the Huercasa Country Festival in Riaza.

Back a few pages, Meghan spent 7 years in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with its vast landscape and rich musical history – a time to learn, observe, and appreciate the wealth of talent steeped into the delta soil. It also offered a quieter place to sit and write her album, Dead Horse Creek (Cheersquad Records and Tapes, 2023). But she ain’t from there neither…

There is an entire gallery, a lifetime, in Montreal, Quebec, where Maike first started playing music in a country band, in the city’s heyday (or, hay-day if you’ll permit a pun) when Canadian darlings, The Sadies, were playing at the little rock n’ roll bar on the plateau, and her idols were nearly within arm’s reach (Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Steve Earle). Mais, ça non plus, n’est pas le début de l’histoire…

Or was it in the family photo albums, where it all began, on Canada’s west coast, born into the folk community on Vancouver Island… 

Today, Maike is grateful to live and make music in Naarm, on the lands of the Kulin Nation. 

Meghan Maike and The Cactus Flowers’ new album, Moontide, will be released on Cheersquad Records & Tapes sometime soon – stay tuned.