Broken Creek duo, Lachlan and Erin Heycox, at the Australian Folk Music Awards. Photos: Supplied.
Picola-based folk duo Broken Creek was named Duo of the Year at the 2025 Australian Folk Music Awards.
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The award recognises artists’ contribution to Australian folk music and their connection to regional storytelling.
The Broken Creek duo, Erin and Lachlan Heycox, were among five finalists vying for the award and emerged victorious at the AFMA Awards Night on Wednesday, October 22.
Erin Heycox, singer and fiddler for Broken Creek.
Broken Creek’s singer and fiddler Erin Heycox said the award came as a surprise.
“It was quite shocking, honestly,” she said.
“We knew the other artists — a lot of them we’ve gigged with or collaborated with — and they’re incredible.”
She added that for Broken Creek, folk music was about connecting generations through music.
“Folk music holds all three — the past, the present and the future,” she said.
“We sing The Gathering Wool about my dad shearing 1000 sheep before the 2022 floods. In 50 years, that’ll be a historical story, but right now it’s about resilience and change.
“It connects generations — and maybe it helps us imagine what comes next.”
Over the past year, the band has focused on building their craft through a residency program at the Pump House, Echuca where they wrote music about Shinbone Alley in Echuca.
Outside of their residency, the duo have been keeping busy, from running songwriting workshops with students in Nathalia to being part of an SBS documentary.
Broken Creek’s guitarist and banjo player, Lachlan Heycox.
Mr Heycox said the award celebrated Broken Creek’s artistry and the regional communities that nurture it.
“A healthy music ecosystem is one that’s really diverse,” he said.
“You can have bands doing stadium shows, but you also need artists creating small, meaningful gigs that connect deeply with people — singing about local landmarks and stories that no-one else is telling.
“This award recognises that kind of contribution. Local specificity is powerful.”
The duo are now preparing to launch their new EP Folk from the Archive: Sally Sloane on Saturday, November 22 at The G.R.A.I.N. Store, Nathalia alongside Melbourne-based duo Corn Nut Creek.
The album is inspired by field recordings and song collections preserved in the National Library of Australia.
Reimagined with Broken Creek’s cinematic arrangements for banjo, fiddle, voice and double bass, the album explores the timeless emotions — love, loss, humour and endurance — while connecting them to life in regional Australia today.
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