Bushwahzee was formed in the early 1980's for a production of the folk musical, Reedy River. Since then there have been many line-ups, but the one original member to have played in nearly all the band's 2000 or so gigs, is Paul Jenkins.

Paul is Bushwahzee's singer, dance caller and percussionist (lagerphone, washboard, bodhran, and bones).

During the 1980's Paul maintained a teaching career as well as playing in the band. He has now retired from teaching and is devoting himself to Bushwahzee. Paul's previous experience as a teacher has been a vital resource in developing Bushwahzee's performance-in-schools repertoire - The Bush Cabaret and The Bush Show. Joining Paul in the current line-up since 1989 are guitarist Patrick McPartlon and Felix Meagher on fiddle.

Patrick is well known as a solo guitarist in Melbourne folk circles and was a member of the new wave punk band the Maggots. Born in county Leitrim in Ireland Patrick learnt Irish music from his father, a flute player. The similarities between Australian ballads and dance with the Irish made it easy for Patrick to slot into a bush band. Bushwahzee has also taken advantage of his Irish background and has an extensive Irish repertoire, and occasionally plays in the Irish venues around Melbourne, most notably the Clyde Hotel, Carlton, on St. Pat's night.

Felix joined the band when returning to Melbourne after a decade as a traveling composer, a journey which led to work for Music '81 in Geelong (Vic); to study with Ronald Stevenson, the Scottish composer, at his home in West Linton near Edinburgh; to form the Alice Springs People's Orchestra and compose a choral symphony for them as part of the opening of the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs (N.T.), and on three music theater collaborations with Baz Luhrmann, including Lake Lost for the Australian Opera. Another of Felix and Baz's comic operas, The Pure Merino Fandango opened at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in the Port Fairy Lecture Hall, which was especially re-furbished for the production. In 1997, a song from Lake Lost, I'm Losing You, was released on Baz Luhrmann's platinum-selling CD, Something for Everybody. I'm Losing You is to be released by EMI as a single in February 1998.

Felix studied at University of Melbourne for a bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Education.

As well as performing regularly in Melbourne, Bushwahzee have recently toured Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and Singapore.

Tours of New South Wales are scheduled for May and October in 1998. Bushwahzee will also be touring for the Queensland Arts Council in July/August 1998.

Bushwahzee conduct a "Bush Cabaret" which is authorized for performance in New South Wales by the News South Wales Department of Education, and has been analyzed against the Curriculum Standards Framework (Levels 1 to 4) of the Department of Schools and Education Victoria.

Google Bushwahzee to see what they are doing at the moment.