Events

Friday 27th January 2023 - Mojo Webb Band

To bring in the New Year, and to celebrate returning to our normal venue at the Condong Bowls Club, in January we welcome back perennial Club favourites the Mojo Webb Band, who always guarantee a packed house full of foot tappers, arm wavers and seemingly inexhaustible dancers.

Mojo’s authentic blues sounds travel all the way back to the Delta, with overlays of the Chicago elements that came later. But the presentation is always fresh and vibrant, and you can’t fail to feel Mojo’s love for the genre that he invests with his own personality and style. With a rhythmic, talented and multi-instrumental backline, and sit-ins from established blues performers, Mojo never fails to deliver the goods, and leave the crowd yelling for more.

So, by popular request he’s back – and we can’t wait for resident compere and blues exponent ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe to sign him in.

Friday 24th February 2023 - Sweet Thunder Jazz Orchestra

The Orchestra draws its membership from the best musicians on the Gold Coast and specializes in great swing standards using such greats as Duke Ellington and Count Basie as its inspiration and reviving great songs from great composers such as Quincy Jones, Benny Carter and many others.

With a unique repertoire, exceptionally tight ensemble playing and no less than nine accomplished soloists this hugely experienced and energetic band is not to be missed.

Friday 31st March 2023 - Slips & The F.W.'s

Slips & The F.W.’s are an eclectic collection of musicians from Gold Coast, Brisbane and Toowoomba who love to reignite the spark and charm of Early Blues, Traditional Jazz and Ragtime tunes from the 1900’s to 1930’s. Taking influences from Clarence Williams, Blind Boy Fuller and Spencer Williams to name a few, Slips & The F.W.'s thrive on performing classic numbers and originals in their own unique way bringing a taste of New Orleans wherever they may roam.

Past Events

Thursday 17th November 2022
What a superb foot-stomping final gig for the year! All the nostalgia of the post-War US honky-tonks and dancehalls, courtesy of steel guitar wizard Warren Earl at the head of a talented six piece that recreated the magic of Bob Wills and the musical phenomenon that was Western Swing. Classics of the genre such as ‘Right or wrong’, ‘That was before I met you’ and ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ were blended with pure country favourites like Ray Price’s evergreen classic ‘Crazy Arms’ and the haunting Hank Williams creation ‘I’m so lonesome I could cry.’ These boys had it all in their pockets!
In addition to the melodic strains of the steel guitar, the line-up was augmented with ‘spot on’ percussion from Pete Wilkins, tight base lines courtesy of former Slim Dusty sidesman Rod Coe, fiddle intercessions from Mat Lydon, and virtuoso guitar licks from promising star of the future Sam Sanders, who’d just completed his Year Twelve exams! Vocals from Diego Zaragoza, playing a rhythm guitar that looked as authentic as it sounded, completed the overall experience, and you were either dead or stone deaf if the music didn’t get your feet tapping all by themselves.
The next gig, in January 2023, sees us back at Condong with the Mojo Webb Band for another step back in time, and members’ feet are already twitching in anticipation.

Thursday 27th October 2022
They battled down a dark highway, through a hailstorm, in dense traffic, but ‘The Session Band’ survived it all to give us one of the best shows we’ve ever enjoyed, before putting their instruments into their travel bags and heading back north.
Peter Uppman (front man and horns), Jo Bloomfield (keyboard), Russell Bayne (guitar) and Pat Robbins (drums and backing vocals) pulled out all the steps in a programme that contained everything from era standards such as ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’ and ‘A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’, through favourites from artists such as Elvis, Max Merritt and Neil Diamond, all the way to a supercharged version of the Johnny Cash signature ‘Folsom Prison Blues’.
It’s a mark of the true professionalism of this outfit that although attendance numbers were lower than usual, they performed with the same enthusiasm as if they were on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. Thanks for a superb show, people, and come back soon.

Thursday 29 September 2022
A near-capacity crowd and an 18 piece ‘big band’ occupying almost a quarter of the venue room made for a tight squeeze, but only added to the ambience as one happy memory after another was revived for those in attendance. During their first set alone, they delivered classics such as ‘Satin Doll’, ‘Hallelujah I just love him so’, ‘How high the moon’, ‘One note samba’, ‘On the sunny side of the street’, and ‘Take the A train.’
It takes skill and dedication to ensure a note-perfect performance by so many talented and dedicated instrumentalists, augmented by two superb vocal stylists, and the best indication of how well this gifted ensemble went down with their audience was the fact that virtually nobody left after the raffles were drawn.
Thank you ‘Hint of Swing’, and thank you to those who made it possible. It gets better every month, and it’s only a pity that the next gig is still four weeks away.

Thursday 25 August 2022
On one of the coldest nights of the year we were eager for some hot jazz, and the Todd Hardy Swingtet certainly didn’t disappoint. This six piece ensemble of talented musos, led by an experienced trumpeter who knows the best when he hires them, gave us two hours of swing, hardbop and a few hard to define but easy to listen to arrangements of their own. Those who like to warm their hearts with favourite standards weren’t left out either, with classics such as ‘I can’t give you anything but love,’ ‘Mood Indigo’, ‘I’m beginning to see the light,’ ‘Ain’t Misbehaving,’ and ‘Take the A Train’ flooding the room with nostalgia.
To finish the show, they gave us a lengthy rendition of ‘Route 66’ that was three times longer than the original score, during which each instrumentalist gave us at least two solos, then we wandered back out into the icy air with the reminder that good jazz can be an electric blanket for the soul.

Thursday 28 July 2022
Those of us who overcame the cold, COVID, potholes and natural inertia to make the effort to attend our July gig thought that all our Christmases had come at once as soon as ‘Bags of Groove’ opened up their first set. Led by vibraphonist Dave Kemp, it was an evening of jazz the way that it was meant to be, and if you closed your eyes you could have been in Sydney’s Basement, London’s Ronnie Scott’s or the Green Mill in Chicago. Not bad for downtown Murwillumbah!
Dave displayed his music credentials as he interspersed each number with fascinating facts about the construction and history of the vibraphone and some of its famous exponents such as Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton. Equally spellbinding, playing several forms of reed instrument, was his wife Catherina, with his father in law Glen Shepherd on keyboard. A tight backline of Phil Jack on bass and Pete Neville on drums kept the ‘groove’ faultless all evening, and we ventured back out into the icy late chill with hearts thoroughly warmed by the best jazz to be heard north of the Big Smoke.

Thursday 30 June 2022
A lovely laid back, nostalgic trip down memory lane for our June gig, as Harry Lynn and the Warblers took us, cabaret style, through the song books of some of the great composers. Led by Harry himself on keyboard, with Les Kafoa on drums and John Edwards on bass, accomplished vocalists George Harvey and Beth Hamilton played musical mikes for two and a half hours of reworked standards that included ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’, ‘Don’t get around much any more’, ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’, ‘Georgia on my mind’ and ‘Summertime’.
The temporary venue of Murwillumbah Golf Club provided a perfect setting with its comfortable lounge, adjacent bar and delicious dinner menu, and the appreciative audience lapped it all up as they sang along.

Thursday 26 May 2022
Another great night, despite a few changes. A different venue, a different night of the week, and it wasn’t raining for once. A capacity crowd turned out for one of the Club favourites, Mojo Webb, whose authentic blues sound filled the room with energy and much-needed uplift. The back of the stage resembled a guitar shop, and after Mojo demonstrated how good each of them sounded he switched to harmonica, leaving Club Committee member Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe to demonstrate his own guitar mastery of the blues format, to the delight of the already ecstatic crowd. We certainly got our ‘Mojo’ working!
Many thanks to Murwillumbah Golf Club for playing temporary host while our usual venue gets dried out. Your club premises are a delight, and the food service is excellent.

Friday 29th April 2022
Gig canceled due to the flood damage.

Friday 25th March 2022
Gig canceled due to the flooding.

Friday 25th February 2022
Gig canceled due to the wet weather.

Friday 28th January 2022
A foot-stomping start to 2022, with the welcome return of The BlueSkillet Rovers, a lively six piece, augmented on this occasion by Club Committee member Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe, sitting in on guitar due to the temporary absence of their regular six string sidesman.
Their music is best described as ‘eclectic’, which is a convenient word to describe what might be more accurately identified as ‘Bluegrass jazz-infused blues with a rockabilly flavour’, and their visual presentation was just as authentic. Even the lead vocalist’s 1920s look microphone resembled a leftover from ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and the ‘down-home’ wisecracking between band members between numbers added to the overall experience.
A great night, and a taste of the year to come. COVID? What COVID?

Friday 26th November 2021
A fitting end to a difficult year, as a group of local musos came together to reconfirm how much talent lies in the Northern Rivers. Former Club President, current Committee member, bass player and music teacher to generations of Murwillumbah students, Peter McLaughlin assembled an impressive line-up that partly reprised his days in Sydney’s famous Bourbon and Beefsteak as he called up drummer Kevin Collins and vocalist Lesley Rose to play the memories.
The addition of Glen Shepherd on keys, Joes Travers on guitar and Jake Bryant on sax guaranteed a wallow through nostalgia as the ensemble worked their way through the standards songbook, while throwing in the occasional surprise such as Edith Piaf’s signature ‘La vie en rose’.
That was the last Club gig for 2021, but COVID willing we’ll be back in January 2022. In the meantime, have a great Xmas and a safe New Year, and see you on the dance floor.

Friday 29th October 2021
A wonderful celebration of our release from the latest lockdown, surrounded by old friends and being serenaded by some of the finest musos on the North Coast.
In the back line, Toby Baron on drums and Robert Renfrew on bass. Both men brought impressive track records over with them from the UK, with Toby even being able to boast a link with the 60s icons The Kinks. Then the consummate Martha Baartz on sax, with a list of guest appearances for famous artists whose names would fill your autograph book.
On trombone, the seemingly inexhaustible ‘Trombone’ Kellie Barnett, who can go in one breath from a rasping trombone glissando to the most powerful female vocal offering to be heard anywhere on the planet. Then, gluing it all together with guitar skills that must have been acquired one dark night at a crossroads, our own Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe, whose slide guitar blues riffs should be recorded and employed as the Northern Rivers anthem.
Due to COVID restrictions, entry numbers were limited, but we could have filled the venue twice over. It will be no different next month, when we welcome ‘Peter’s Pick’, and we can’t wait.

Friday 24th September 2021
The Hint Of Swing Big Band event was postponed due to COVID-19 border restrictions.

Friday 27th August 2021
The Slips and the Flamin' Whippersnappers event was postponed due to COVID-19 border restrictions.

Friday 30th July 2021
Wow, wow and wow again! A perfect antidote to the gloom and depression of COVID, as Fiona Boyes leaped out of the traps and played her heart out, risking dislocated fingers as she demonstrated her mastery of one eclectic guitar after another, one of which had only three strings but in her hands sounded like an orchestra.
From Chicago, down through Mississippi and into Louisiana, the music was as authentic as ’gaitors and moonshine, and never once let up. Fiona interspersed her musical miracles with reminiscences of the places she’d visited on her US tours, from the haunting post-Katrina New Orleans to the dodgy juke joints where the singers risked being electrocuted by their microphones.
Two and a half hours later, the audience members were still glued to their seats, ‘chair dancing’ as Fiona called it. Definitely an act to be re-booked once COVID regulations permit the Club to admit larger numbers.

Friday 25th June 2021
Wow, what a night to remember! Not only the Club’s 25th Birthday Bash, complete with a yummy cake, but also one of the finest bands currently playing in the Northern Rivers.
‘Horn Among the Roses’, fronted by chanteurs Sharny Russell and Elizabeth Lord, and ably supported by saxophonist Adam Thomas and drummer Dave Sanders, kept us all enthralled with their unique blend of old and new. Among the standards given refreshing new life were ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Teach Me Tonight’, but the highlights were undoubtedly Sharny and Elizabeth’s duets on numbers such as ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More’ and ‘The Girl From Ipenema’.
What came across more than anything was the band’s delight in playing together again, as the ‘fun’ they were having permeated the entire room. Truly a great night, and let’s hope that there are at least 25 more years to come!

Updated 18th November 2022
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