I love the West End markets – I find so many good things there, and not only spiced coffee, retro clothes or African trinkets. Last time I discovered singer-songwriter Clare Quinn. She was playing an acoustic set by the riverbank, under the shade of a Moreton Bay fig tree, to a crowd of enthralled people sitting around on milk crates and hessian bags, listening attentively.

The 19-year-old had just returned to Brisbane from a year in Europe, and she told us stories of her adventures in Paris and Prague and how they’d turned into songs recorded in England and Ireland. Well, now she celebrates her debut album release with a launch at the Zoo on Thursday, January 31. To sample a taste of her folk-inspired tunes have a listen here.

I think I like to go to the West End markets a lot in January because I just can’t quite admit that the Woodford Folk Festival is over. (Clare is a big Woodford fan too.) I like to get my happy hippy fix.

Fun fact of the day: Did you know there is a Moreton Bay fig, native to Queensland, in Beverley Hills near Rodeo Drive? That I’ll save for another story.