Penny Davies & Roger Ilott

Penny Davies & Roger Ilott

Penny Davies & Roger Ilott came together in July 1976. Roger had been playing in his folk/country band THE RUSTY DUSTY BROS at the Limerick Castle club in Sydney. Penny was in the club and heard the music. The rest, as they say, is history! A couple of weeks later they moved in together with Penny’s dog & Roger’s record collection. They both shared a strong love of folk music. Penny & Roger had both been performing individually at folk clubs around Sydney in the early ‘70s. Roger was with The Southern Road Band and Penny was with The Oak Road String Band. Roger also had a solid reputation as a session guitarist.

In early 1982, Penny & Roger moved into a small rented cottage in Balmain and began writing and recording their first album in their living room. They also began performing as a duo around folk clubs in New South Wales. They eventually moved the studio out of their living room and rebuilt it in the garden. This was the beginning of THE RESTLESS MUSIC studio. It soon became the hub of the Sydney folk & country music scene.

In 1987, Penny and Roger moved to Stanthorpe, Queensland where they are now. They recorded ‘Hey Rain’ there and it received a lot of airplay including on Sunday Morning with MACCA on Australia All Over.

Macca with Penny & Roger and Jordy in Stanthorpe

‘Hey Rain’ was from the pen of Bill Scott who also lived near Stanthorpe. Bill later shared many songs with Penny and Roger. They recorded ‘Opal Miner’ in 1999. Opal Miner is the songs of Bill Scott.

Life in the country brought many changes for Penny & Roger. They have a son, Jordan, who arrived in 1989. And even when Jordan was very young Penny & Roger toured & performed extensively for the Queensland Arts Council. Touring in the country encouraged and inspired Penny & Roger to write with a new focus. Their albums since those times reflect their involvement with rural life.

Penny & Roger's music is country in the very truest sense. Their songs are well mixed and their voices feel very comfortable wherever they take the listener along the journey. They are songs of being satisfied with where we are and where we are going on your journey.

To find out more about Penny Davies & Roger Ilott & their music

visit the RESTLESS MUSIC web site

Restless Music was started in 1982 by folksingers, Penny Davies & Roger Ilott, who were living in Sydney. The studio was originally known as Restless Recordings. From 1983 until August, 1987, when Penny & Roger relocated to a 32 acre property at Storm King Dam, Stanthorpe, Queensland. Penny & Roger have produced 20 albums on the Restless Music label, as well as albums for other small labels such as Tindola, Sandstock & Crossover. Since moving to Stanthorpe they have continued to produce their own music and albums for Australian Bush Poets and many country performers.