10/06/2026
The Runaway Strings
Blackwood
4Jun26 Album
Release Information
The Runaway Strings are proud to announce the release of their debut album ‘Blackwood’, an intimate yet raucous collection of songs encompassing country, bluegrass and traditional folk. Recorded live, acoustic and entirely in one day, ‘Blackwood’ captures a band embracing immediacy, honesty and the raw chemistry of musicians playing together in a room. Named after the forest and bushland surroundings where the album was recorded, ‘Blackwood’ is a record rooted in authenticity.
Across the album, expert musicianship meets sharp storytelling and an unmistakably human perspective. Each song stands as its own self-contained story, populated by vivid characters (some real, some not so much) navigating many of life’s strange yet familiar emotions, frustrations and absurdities.
From the sarcastic shift worker counting the minutes in “Living the Dream,” to the bitter pub musician battling an indifferent crowd in “Give Up, Don’t Try,” to the painfully modern struggle of promoting anything beneath the gaze of tech giants in “Come On Feel The Algorithm,” ‘Blackwood’ exposes humour, heart and truth in equal measure.
Formed in 2023 during a chance encounter on Halloween, The Runaway Strings came together through coincidence and shared musical instinct. Core members Peter and Jiah (husband and wife) had already spent years playing music together when a spontaneous front-porch banjo session led to the meeting of third member Lionel, turning a costumed Halloween night into the band’s current incarnation.
‘Blackwood’ was recorded at Greenhills Sound studio in Blackwood, VIC with Bobby Bravington. It was produced by Peter Harrison, with mixing and engineering by Bobby, with mastering by Nao Anzai.
