A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to local musician Rowan Blackmore and his French girlfriend, Sarah Prevost, perform at the Basement Bar’s Sunday afternoon open mic session.

After several typical folk singers with guitars performed, a pint size, blonde, girl with a strong set of lungs appeared playing a piano accordion.

It was a refreshing change of identity, a French girl singing in a downtown Bendigo pub.

It was exciting to know we had our very own Edith Piaf in our midst.

Rowan added to the sounds of Europe playing a complicated Romanian piece on a gutsy piano accordion which appeared to weigh a tonne.

He manoeuvred it across his body with confidence and passion.

His performance began slowly, building up to a wild and furious Balkan beat compelling onlookers to put down their glasses and clap in time with the climaxing rhythm.

It was awe inspiring... and a lot of fun. So I was surprised to find out Rowan had only been playing the instrument for five years.

“When I started to listen to European music – especially French – I began learning the piano accordion,” Rowan said.

“It’s great because you can play so many styles of music on it, not just French music or gypsy music but Romanian, German and the like.

“I decided to buy a button accordion, which is the older style accordion, when I went to France with Sarah and have been playing that for about eight months now.”

Rowan has added the accordions to his repetoire of musical instruments.

He said he was not a formally-trained musician, which leads one to suspect he is naturally gifted.

His modesty on the subject is endearing, putting his ability down to his interest in world music.

“I was listening to a lot of world music and I wanted to learn how to play the instruments that were being used.

When I listened to North Indian music, I decided to learn sitar and after listening to Chinese music, I learnt to play a pipa, (a four-stringed lute).”

“It was when I was listening to European music, especially French music, I came to enjoy the piano accordion, it was an instrument that came naturally to me.”

Rowan could be described as the wandering minstrel of View Street. He can often be seen on weekends sitting on bench seats outside the antique shops and cafes. He agrees the piano accordion is a great instrument to entertain people.

“It’s an easy instrument to take with you as it’s strapped to your body and as soon you walk into pubs with your accordion, people ask you to play,” he said.

“There is the element of fascination for people as they are not familiar with the instrument, particularly in Bendigo. Melbourne people are more accustomed to it. 

“I’ve been playing outside El Beso for two years and I’ve seen people’s positive and negative responses.

“The accordion has got a bit of a cheesy reputation for people who aren’t very familiar with it, they think it’s old fashioned, associating it with German beer and polka, which is great but there is a lot more to it.

“Music from the Balkans is really amazing. In Russia there are classical accordionists that play with orchestras.”

Sarah came to Australia for a year in 2008 and after returning to her homeland of Normandy in France she has been back in Australia for five months.

She and Rowan met in Bendigo. It was a fortuitous and romantic meeting of souls involving their love of music and the Bendigo mall.

“I had just arrived in Bendigo and was walking through the mall feeling a bit homesick when I heard someone playing a French song on an accordion,” Sarah said.

“It was a song that only a French native would recognise and it just so happened to be a song by one of my favourite bands as well.

“I was jetlagged having just arrived and knew no one and was feeling homesick and I was thinking what am I doing here, when I heard the music and I thought, ‘I must be dreaming’.”

Rowan said it was a relief to have his music appreciated as he had spent so long playing songs that held no significance or meaning to anyone.

“It was good to have someone recognise the song and share my interest in French music, we immediately began discussing music and started swapping CDs,” he said.

“He introduced me to French bands I didn’t even know,” laughed Sarah.

Sarah initially came to Australia as a French teacher’s assistant and confessed she was  obsessed by Melbourne and Sydney.

When the agency told her she would be going to Bendigo she was surprised but quite open to seeing what the Australian countryside was like. 

“I discovered after a while that it was a better experience in Bendigo in some ways because there are less French people around than in the cities, which forces you to mix with more Australians,” she said.

“Also, I come from the countryside in France so Bendigo is more my pace and it has been a blessing. It is very laid back here, more relaxed and generally easier.”