The Central Coast folk/pop group kicked off The Rain Is Coming Tour in Bulli on Friday night, notching up a long-awaited return to touring for the group whose youngest member Mia Toole, 17, finished her final HSC four days before the band played the first show of the tour which takes in NSW throughout December before heading to Victoria and WA in early 2022.

"It has been a long time coming," says Little Quirks' Jaymi Toole (mandolin, vocals).

"We did a show a few months ago but prior to that we have not toured for basically the whole year, so it does feel a little bit like learning to ride a bike again.

"Especially for me in particular, I feel a bit out of practise and having not been in front of a large group of people for a while, it feels a bit strange.

"We have been sitting on these songs for what feels like it's been over a year now, so we are pretty eager to get them out into the world."

The tour takes its name from the band's forthcoming single The Rain, which will feature on their fourth EP (due early 2022) and also marks their first output since signing a deal with ABC Music in 2020.

If all goes to plan, Little Quirks' debut album will follow later in the year.

The EP, which includes the trio's latest singles Florence's Town and Someone To Hold, explores the acoustic folk/pop style and three-part harmonies of their previous releases with the addition of electric guitar which, according to Jaymi, has injected the energy of their live shows into their sound.

Little Quirks will perform tracks from the EP at the Cambridge Hotel on Saturday night, along with a handful of covers including their version of ABBA's hit S.O.S which they released on YouTube in July.

"We have always loved ABBA since we were little," she says.

"We used to play the ABBA Singstar [PlayStation] game at home when we were kids and loved the Mamma Mia movies, so we have added that in for these upcoming shows.

"It's really fun to play," Jaymi says. "We love doing covers".

The trio's rise from street buskers to playing festivals across Australia began six years ago when Abbey Toole (vocals, guitar) decided that she wanted to start busking and invited her cousin Jaymi to join her.

Inspired by Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers and The Cranberries, Abbey's little sister Mia, then 10, joined the pair on drums (Jaymi's brother Alex joined on bass in 2019) and they spent their weekends busking at markets around the Central Coast and Newcastle.

"It was just a hobby at the time and we enjoyed playing with each other because we were always close as cousins growing up," Jaymi says.

"We didn't get part-time jobs until a few years ago, so busking was basically our way of making money when I was in high school."

Eventually they began writing and recording their own music to sell at their busking gigs, with Abbey and Mia's father Adam Toole, who also played in bands, recording the songs in their home studio.

"We had little CDs that Abbey's mum made for us. They were very handmade [laughs], but I think someone saw us playing and asked if we wanted to do the Grow Your Own Festival in Forster," Jaymi says.

"We were the very first band to play when the gates were opening so literally no one was watching except for two people and [Australian musician] Alex the Astronaut who was playing after us.

"She watched us, which was good [laughs], and it went from there."

The trio's waiting game during the pandemic has been ongoing since last year when they were forced to cancel their first trip overseas to perform at The Great Escape Festival in the UK alongside a host of big-name acts.

Little Quirks are hopeful their chances won't be dashed as they prepare to head to the US and the UK on tour in March next year.

"That was originally planned for last year but it didn't go ahead, so we are catching up now," Jaymi says.

"It has been so frustrating for us as I'm sure it is for everyone in this industry."

Little Quirks perform at the Cambridge Hotel on December 4. Tickets at littlequirksband.com

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