30 Aug – Don Hopkins, The Specialties, Baggage & Stuff

Don Hopkins

The Specialties

Baggage & Stuff

Don Hopkins’ expertise and playful enthusiasm for performing a wide ranging song selection will ensure you’ll be tapping your toes and having a good time to his music. He mines the rich vein of blues and jazz of the 1920s and 30s through to the R&B, soul and gospel sounds of the 1950s and 60s. Don transforms a song with his vocal turns and phrases, fingers slipping and sliding along the keys, bringing to life a world of blues and jazz. He came second at the 2012 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN with his duo Dr Don’s Double Dose. An influential part of Sydneyʼs Blues scene since the 1970s, Don was inducted into the Goulburn Blues Walk of Fame in 2002 and has appeared at major festivals around Australia, touring New Zealand in 2000 and Austria in 2005.

The Specialties are a five piece band bringing their own take on classic well known and some unknown Blues, Jazz, Soul and Funk tunes. Out front you have one of the best jazz ,blues and soul vocalists in the country Shannon Carswell. Next up you have one red hot rhythm section with the amazing Shawn Supra (USA) slapping that Double Bass and keeping everyone in check. The time keeper with the incredible rhythmic stylings is the one and only Willem Van Ekert on Drums. Nic Lewis on Lead Guitar brings his slick sophisticated oh so smooth jazz & blues voicings to the group. Wayne Rigby on Saxophone and Flute manages these talented cool cats and brings his own unique sound and experience having played at over 30 music festivals around the country. The Specialties recently picked up 5 nominations from the Sydney Blues Society 2023 Blues Awards 3 nominations in 2024.

Baggage and Stuff was born in 2017 as a combo of Men With Day Jobs and Aubrey & Purton. They’ve delighted punters with original and spirited performances at Sydney venues and the Sydney and Kangaroo Valley Festivals. All four sing, play and write prolifically. Individually/variously they’ve wowed hundreds of venues, fests and events; appeared on radio and TV; won major songwriting and other writing awards; had books published; backed big names; had their original songs much liked on YouTube and covered by artists worldwide. Between them, members have racked up over a century of collaboration. Northern Beaches born-and-raised, from high school days and through various bands/projects, guitar/mando player and prizewinning writer/satirist Stafford Sanders and in-demand pianist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Rod Crundwell have long been musical partners – once appearing on Countdown in sailor suits! “A-list ukulelist” and storytelling historian Pete Purton and multi-instrumentalist and veteran crowd-whisperer Dennis Aubrey have gigged and busked for years in innumerable and exotic places, winning the hearts of diverse audiences. Their originals run a wide gamut of genres, tempos, moods and subjects. They share a passion for music and life, a concern for people and the wider world, a feeling for Sydney’s many stories, and a sense of humour that manages to be both sharp and daggy.

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