Jumping Fences consistently engage audiences with their innovative repertoire of original and Latin American songs. Centred on the song-writing partnership of Sue Monk and Lachlan Hurse, in performance their line-up ranges from an intimate trio setting — featuring Sue’s rich vocals accompanied by nylon-stringed guitar, intertwined with the colour and rhythm of Lachlan’s bass, and the jazz-influenced lines of Ross Gwyther on clarinet and tenor sax — to a powerful five-piece band with driving rhythm accompaniment of Dan Simpson on drums and James Harper on percussion.
Since March 2008, Jumping Fences has been hosting ‘Foco Nuevo’, a monthly concert in Brisbane, to showcases both their own music and featured guest musicians. Based on their experiences of the Latin America peña (an intimate artist-controlled space), Foco Nuevo has allowed Jumping Fences to consolidate a strong following and explores new territory in the development of Latin American musical practices in an Australian context.
Over an extended period Jumping Fences has built a profile in South East Queensland with regular performances at folk venues and festivals around the region, including the Neurum Creek Festival, Brisbane Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, Laura Street Festival, Moorooka Festival, and the Queensland Multicultural Festival. They have supported touring Chilean musicians Fernando Ubiergo and Patricio Anabalon.
Through regular visits to Cuba (beginning in 1985/86), Sue and Lachlan have established strong relationships with Cuban musicians, giving rise to two tours of Cuba — in 2017 and 2018 — at the invitation of the Cuban Institute of Music, performing in Havana, Santa Clara, Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba. They have performed in significant venues, including Havana’s Bellas Artes theatre as part of the ‘Ella y Yo’ Festival in June 2018, Mejunje in Santa Clara and the Iris Jazz Club in Santiago de Cuba. On previous visits they have performed at the National Union of Cuban Artists and Writers in Havana, at the Cuba Pavillion, and the ‘Fresa y Chocolate’ café in the Cuban Institute of Cinematography, as well as other major venues in Cuba, including the Amadeo Roldan Theatre, the Karl Marx Theatre, the Piano Bar of the National Theatre and Casa de la Trova in Santiago.
In 2007 Jumping Fences received national airplay for their single ‘I Never Sing’ which in 2006 had gained 4th place in open category of the Australian Songwriting Association’s national competition.
Jumping Fences has toured North Queensland, and performed at the Woodford, Yungaburra Festivals and PAVE Festival in Victoria. They have played on the main stage at the Labour Day celebrations in Brisbane and conducted a workplace songwriting and performance project — The Music Shift — in association with the Qld Council of Unions.
They have released five CDs — ‘View from a Wooden Chair’ (1996), ‘Distant Love (no Telephone)’ (2004), ‘I Never Sing’ (2006), ‘The Quiet of the Winter Moon’ (2013) and ‘Satellites’ (2017).