In musical circles, there's a mythical quality to that name, attached as it is to the father of American protest song, Woody Guthrie.

Sometimes the people who make the biggest contributions to our culture can be pretty strange characters.

NORPA's 2013 season opened with the captivating gothic classic, Frankenstein, and what a pick that was to see in the renovations at Lismore City Hall.

The popular YA book series may be a hit with readers, but this film adaptation offers few thrills or fresh ideas to the teenage fantasy genre.

Abner Bradley, Alirio Zavarce, Ben Wishart, Damien Turbin, Duncan Luke, Kym Mackenzie, Ryan Rowland, Richard Samai

This week's Deckchair Review is from Robyn Westbrook for the film Mood Indigo.

George Clooney's latest directorial effort is star-laden and highly polished fun, but fails to dig deep enough into history or character to be truly memorable.

Audiences in the Northern Rivers don't mind a bit of water. So, the idea of seeing the stage of the Lismore City Hall in flood mode was something of a drawcard for NORPA's punters who came to see dance production, Lake.

Mozart Dances comprises of three short dance pieces inspired by Mozart's piano concerto number 11, sonata in D major for two pianos and piano concerto number 27.

A Chinese mining giant is being accused of underestimating the impact a proposed open cut mine will have on groundwater on the New South Wales Liverpool Plains.

Smoking rates have dropped massively since the 70s down from 40 per cent to only 14 per cent but some areas of the country are not getting the message.

About a year ago, my partner and I learned of a revolution in Australia's paddocks. We want to farm in a more natural way, but the stakes are high making the shift could send us broke.

Russ French's highly detailed military models have helped secure billion-dollar contracts, with one even landing at the Pentagon. These are no toys.

Three years ago Mingoola residents welcomed African refugee families with open arms as part of a settlement program hailed for invigorating a dying country town. Now the tiny NSW town has lost all of its newest members.

With dams and creeks bone dry in drought-stricken towns, firefighters are being forced to find ways to combat blazes that are almost impossible to extinguish.

When people started getting sick from a particularly potent strain of salmonella last year, a team of experts rushed to try to trace the source of the outbreak.

Tamworth farmer Cathy Hockings looks after orphaned calves, helping out drought-affected farmers unable to keep young stock.

MORNING BRIEFING: The Rural Fire Service says it will begin assessing the full extent of the bushfire damage in northern New South Wales today, and a man is charged after a robbery in 2003.

The remains of a 77-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman are found on a property destroyed in the bushfires which ripped through northern NSW earlier this week.

With towns facing "zero day" water crises National Party MPs are frustrated not enough dams are being built, but states are spending billions to fix a system ill-prepared for crisis.

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

Small businesses are struggling across Australia as the coronavirus outbreak unfolds. But there are ways you can help keep them going — and stick to social isolation guidelines.

Health authorities say a person in their 20s is among the latest positive cases of coronavirus detected in Tasmania taking the state tally to 42.

At least 1 million Australians are facing unemployment as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and those with a mortgage are particularly worried. Here's some information on what the big four banks are doing.

Authorities say two children are confirmed amongst the latest coronavirus cases in Tasmania, as the Government confirms it will refund public school levies, freeze water prices and cap electricity prices as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Leaders announce a series of different measures for schools across the country, with some calling on parents to keep children at home if they can. Here's what is happening in each state and territory.

Public health officials are investigating the recent movements of a worker at Latrobe's Mersey Community Hospital, in the state's north, who has caught coronavirus.

A continuing investigation into an infectious health worker at the Mersey Hospital in Tasmania's north-west reveals the person was only at work for 30 minutes before they felt unwell and went home.

Defence force personnel will help Tasmanian Police conduct spot checks to ensure people are observing new rules restricting their movements for at least the next four weeks.

If you see a Tasmanian devil this week, remember to wish it happy birthday. They've earned it, after a "brutal" natural selection process in which a maximum of four joeys — out of a litter of 40 — survive.

A former patient at Launceston's first purpose-built infectious diseases hospital wants Tasmanians to heed the warnings to stay home and stay safe.

Ian Pearce's resignation is the latest to plague a small east coast council, blaming his speedy exit on age, health concerns and union harassment.

On the day Tasmanian's north-west coast residents are warned their behaviour will be monitored in the midst of a local coronavirus outbreak, the state's confirmed cases rise by nine to 107.

Tasmania records another four cases of coronavirus, all in the state's north-west hotspot, after Premier Peter Gutwein warned of a statewide Easter police "blitz" and an "effective lockdown" in the north-west.

A fourth person dies of coronavirus in Tasmania on a day when 11 more cases are confirmed, bringing the state's total to 122, health authorities say.

Tasmanian companies keen to keep staff employed are adapting and shifting their business focus by making face shields, hand sanitiser and other products in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tasmania's coronavirus tally reaches 133, with the director of Public Health confirming 11 new cases have been diagnosed in the state's north-west today.

A Tasmanian woman in her 70s has died of coronavirus, taking the state's death toll to five, as 11 more cases are diagnosed in the north-west.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein says the Chief Medical Officer's claims that the north-west Tasmanian coronavirus outbreak started with a dinner party of health workers are a rumour that will be followed up.

A 91-year-old woman becomes the sixth Tasmanian to die from coronavirus, as the state's overall tally jumps to 165 cases — with all of the new cases known to be from the disease hotspot of the north-west.

More cases of coronavirus are confirmed as being from Tasmania's north-west, on the day Premier Peter Gutwein urges residents with flu-like symptoms to get tested for the deadly disease.

The Prime Minister says north-west Tasmania is a classic example of the need for the Federal Government's coronavirus-tracking app, after he accuses a north-west aged care worker of not telling the truth about their movements and contacts.

A 72-year-old man becomes the seventh Tasmanian to succumb to coronavirus, as four more cases are confirmed in the north-west. It comes as the emergency department of a hospital at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak reopens.

Another five coronavirus cases in Tasmania's troubled northwest take the tally to 200, as the Health Minister urges people to remain vigilant.

A day after the Prime Minister announced a moratorium on evictions, this doctor was given an ultimatum by her landlord — either she stop working at a hospital or move out.

A day after authorities said the coronavirus outbreak in Tasmania may be "trailing off", the tally jumps to 205 with four new cases detected in the past 24 hours — all in the state's north-west.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life on the streets more difficult than ever and despite government promises to help, Lionel says he has been "hearing that for a long time and nothing happens".