The Right Channel
London 1979: Mikey Dread and his brother Jah T began to play at blues parties and local dances, having spent many years under the watchful eye of their father, owner/operator of the famous Admiral Bailey Sound. They chose the name Channel One in homage to the legendary Jamaican record label of the same name whose tunes featured heavily in those early selections. Inspired by Bob Marley’s belief in uniting people through reggae music, Mikey was keen to introduce new people to dub reggae music and started touring around universities, where he secured a solid fanbase.
Channel One’s mission is to break down cultural barriers via reggae music; they have achieved this by touring extensively through Europe, South America, NZ and Australia. In 2017, Channel One celebrated 35 consecutive years at Notting Hill Carnival. They are THE must-see sound system at Europe’s biggest street festival. Their crowd is often 20,000 plus!
Mikey Dread and MC Ras Kayleb will be playing at Durrumbul Hall, on the full Heartical Hi-Powa system. This is a unique opportunity to see, hear and feel the finest selection of roots reggae music in the world.
Durrumbul Hall on Saturday 3 February, from 6pm. $35 pre-sale (http://www.bit.ly/ChOne2018). Miss Brown’s Caribbean Kitchen will be cooking up the good stuff.
Nick at the Brewery
Nick Cunningham has returned with the release of his second studio EP In Between. The songs were produced throughout 2017 in a warehouse studio in Byron Bay. Nick found the time to record ‘in between’ his busy touring schedule. Nick has won the hearts of fans across the country over the years with his well-crafted folk songwriting and beautifully toned voice. His latest EP is no exception! You can catch Nick Cunningham on Friday night as he launches his EP with a free intimate show in the Byron Bay Brewery beer garden. He will be joined by special local guests Tay Oskee, Chris Mellross, plus more. Kicks off at 7.30pm.
Melinda Schneider & Mark Gable Rock the 80s
Get ready for an explosion of powerful guitar riffs and soaring vocals in this salute to the greatest rock songs of all time featuring six-time Golden Guitar award winner Melinda Schneider and Choirboys frontman Mark Gable and backed by an all-star band of Australian rock’n’roll royalty including Tim Gaze (Taman Shud), Steve Fernley (Ian Moss/Dragon), Chris Alford (Chantoozies), Scott Williams (Russell Morris/Brian Cadd) and Brett Williams (Choirboys).
Hear all the smash hits from the 80s, an era when you went to the pub or open-air concert on a weekend and were spoiled for choice to hear bands such as ACDC, The Angels, Moving Pictures, Rose Tattoo, Divinyls, as well as iconic songs by Bon Jovi, Cindi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Queen, Sting, Choirboys and many more!
Melinda Schneider and Mark Gable Rock the 80s is the brainchild of Melinda and was born from an idea after Melinda was asked to perform two songs at the Rock for Doc benefit concert at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in 2013.
Bob Spencer from the Angels recalls: ‘Melinda blew me away the moment she sang the first line of Dogs are Talking at The Angels’ rehearsal for Rock for Doc. I knew she could sing, having heard her country material, but I had no idea she could deliver rock like that! I was gobsmacked (not words I use often!). I think my first one-on-one words to her outside the rehearsal room were ‘But you’re a ROCK chick!’
‘Being best known as a country singer/songwriter, I wasn’t sure what the crowd reaction was going to be when I started belting out No Secrets to the hundreds of sweaty bodies at the Enmore that night, but I was humbled by the reaction from the crowd. It was an honour to have been asked to perform on such an important show for Doc and Australian Rock,’ said Melinda.
The Melinda Schneider & Mark Gable Rock the 80s concept was embedded in 2014 on the popular rock’n’roll cruise, Rock the Boat, where Melinda’s performance, again with the Rock for Doc boys, was show stopping and the audience responded with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Mark Gable needs no introduction – forming and fronting the multi-platinum-selling Choirboys, who are an essential part of our Australian culture having penned one of Australia’s unofficial anthems Run to Paradise. With other great Aussie rock hits such as Boys Will Be Boys, Struggle Town and Never Gonna Die, Choirboys epitomise the essence of the Australian pub culture are viewed by many as the quintessential Australian rock band.
This is a very rare opportunity for audiences to see Mark and Melinda together onstage. Melinda said: ‘Mark is such an amazing performer. We rarely perform together. I guess our genres are so different and we are always focused on our own projects and tours, but this time, we thought, why not, we’ve been living in unwedded bliss together for nine years; let’s bring some of that fun and happiness to the stage.’
Melinda Schneider and Mark Gable – onstage performing the hits that shaped the 80s rock’n’roll era. This will undoubtedly be one hell of a fun night out and one rock show you do not want to miss.
Saturday at Ballina RSL | 8pm | $40 | Tickets at the club.
