Festival of Folk - Scott Cook and the Little Rippers

These are sturdy, straight-talking songs that see the good in you.

Born in West Virginia and raised on the Canadian prairies, Scott Cook quit a job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan in 2007 to embark on the life of a full-time troubadour. 

Since then he's toured almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, living out of backpacks and campervans, averaging over a hundred shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, and distilling his experiences into empathetic, keenly observant verse. Scott has completed ten tours of Australia already, including talked-about performances at Woodford, Port Fairy, Cobargo, Candelo, Cygnet, Healesville, Mullumbimby, Newstead, Kangaroo Valley, Dorrigo, Maldon, Illawarra, the National, and Yackandandah folk festivals, and recorded his seventh album Tangle of Souls in Trentham, Victoria with an intercontinental stringband called Scott Cook and the She'll Be Rights. The collection comes packaged in a cloth-bound, 240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations with gum leaf prints by Healesville artist Cecilia Sharpley. The album spent two weeks at #1 back home on Alberta's province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single Say Can You See was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International's folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest.

He’s been back on the road full-time since January of 2022, living in a campervan named Roadetta with his sweetheart Pamela Mae on upright bass and vocals, and recording his eighth album Troubadourly Yours.  In 2026 he's bringing the new album to Australia and reuniting with acclaimed Australian bassist and longtime collaborator Liz Frencham, mandolinist Justin VIlchez of the High Street Drifters, and dobro whiz Pete Fidler to record another album of roots and bluegrass originals. As always, these are sturdy, straight-talking songs that see the good in you.

"He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own... He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines... Truly one of Woody Guthrie's children." 

RnR Magazine

Save $15 when you purchase all 3 shows

To celebrate Burrinja’s Festival of Folk, you can save $15 by purchasing a multi-pack. Simply buy tickets to all three shows in a single transaction, and the discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

Burrinja’s Festival of Folk presents three outstanding performances from world-renowned artists, making it a must-see for folk music lovers.

This year’s Festival lineup includes:
Inn Echo (CAN) Thursday 5 March 2026 8pm
Scott Cook & The Little Rippers (CAN) Saturday 14 March 2026 8pm
Grace Petrie (UK) Friday 27 March 2026 8pm

“These are whip-smart, bone-achingly lovely, socially committed songs presented with a bold, elegant directness evoking the very best of the folk music tradition. Last night's performance in Notional Space was a thing of rare beauty.” 

Mark Jacobs, presenter, Notional Space