Market and music at The Con

Talented young four-piece, Shomali.

Handmade crafts and home-grown music will be on offer again at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium for the tenth monthly cushion concert.

The ConArtists market organisers say they are dreaming of a low-carbon Christmas and there will be plenty of locally made jewellery, clothing and other goodies on sale at the market, while local bands Galleria, Red Belly Black and Shomali entertain from the stage.

Galleria is a quintet of recorder players whose multi-talented members play and teach a number of other instruments including saxophone, clarinet, flute, tin whistle, guitar, mandolin, ukulele, violin, viola, piano and a Middle Eastern instrument called the oud.

Red Belly Black play original bush rock about bank robbers, speed-fuelled truck drivers and escaped convicts. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer electric piano and double bass (their drummer is missing in action after a bizarre gardening accident), they will be stripping it back for this Saturday morning gig.

Finally, Shomali is a four-piece rock group made up of talented young local musicians led by songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Hannah Shomali.

The free Con- concert starts at 11am and deckchairs and cushions are encouraged.