The conversation singer-songwriters have with the genre’s traditions and luminaries was in evidence here with two acts able to bring something distinctive while wearing their influences in plain sight.

St Leonards duo Trevor Moss and expectant Hannah-Lou possessed sweet marital bliss harmonies, with the twist that Trevor often sang in the higher register of the pair, with Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Neil Young all given their dues.

To follow was baby-faced Ron Sexsmith celebrating the 20th anniversary of his major label debut and three decades of a career seemingly always on the cusp of breakthrough.

The self-deprecating Canadian made light of this, worrying he was going backwards having previously played upstairs [now Dukes at Komedia] and joking how his songs become attributed to other artists: Feist, Michael Buble and Rod Stewart, who all recorded inferior covers.

The influences of Paul McCartney, most notably on Getaway Car, and Elvis Costello, on the gorgeous Words We Never Use, were there but Sexsmith is his own artist.

The beautiful lyric structure of Least That I Can Do and the storytelling in Strawberry Blonde are songwriting at its finest while the 20-year-old Lebanon, Tennesse, and 30-year-old Speaking With The Angel showed he was a songwriter who came to public attention fully-formed.

Inspiration not imitation is the name of the game.

Three stars