4 Dec – East Row Rabble; Liza Ohlback; Glen Bidmead

East Row Rabble

Liza Ohlback trio

Glenn Bidmead

East Row Rabble is a smooth-operating crew from the National Capitol dealing in funk, ska, blues and soul, moving hot horn lines like contraband and keeping dance floors under tight control. Front man Benny “Bootlegs” Drysdale runs the mouth, trafficking emotional hooks across borders packaged in songs that interrogate life’s messier dealings with honesty, hope, and a sly wink. His silver tongue is backed by an arsenal of serious groove. Built for festivals, late-night takeovers, and daylight funkery, the Rabble has pulled jobs on home turf at the National Folk Festival and raided the Basement in partnership with the Tijuana Cartel. They conducted business cross border at Speakeasys like Lazy Bones Lounge (Marrickville), Sol Bar (Maroochydore) RIP, and taken over festivals such as St Albans, Kangaroo Valley, and Cobargo Folk Festival with full and funky force. Some Rabble Capos were involved in previous hits on The Manly Fig in former crews and are eager to return to the scene of the crime. With some of the Family out on other Jobs, the Rabble is pulling in some local ‘Talent’ from local crews like the Crawfish PoBoys Gang for this assault to ensure the crescendos hit with maximum forte.

Liza has a voice inspired by the great Soul & Gospel roots artists, blessed with the richness of Etta, the spirit and power Of Mavis and the Range of Aretha, and mixes this with a love of telling stories with both poignancy and sassiness. Liza was Inducted into the Sydney Blues hall of fame in 2025. She has many awards and her last 2 albums hit #1 in Australia and in the US roots charts. She toured as the lead in “Pearl the Janis Joplin Story” theatre Rockumentary, and featuring at most festivals and venues.
Her trio features RICK MELICK , an internationally renowned Piano/Singer/songwriter. He has toured with Jo Bonamassa & Chris Cain and shared the stage with the worlds best including Eric Clapton and Paul Rodgers. Drums/Percussion/Vocals are covered by her husband Greg Ohlback (Julian Lennon, The Fukers, Matt Ross ).
With a big, unique sound, and 3 part blind boys of Alabama style harmonies, they romp through a tasty selection of Blues, New Orleans Jazz and Gospel steeped in Roots music. Their wealth of experience will have you thoroughly entertained and uplifted.

Glenn’s work spreads across all genres of music, encompassing everything from Pop & Rock to Country. Glenn’s songs are drawn from his life travelling the outback of Australia. Spending 15 years on the road doing songwriting workshops with schools and remote communities, he feels very fortunate to have met so many Australians in so many towns. He has also co-written with many successful Australian and International songwriters such as Mick Jones (Foreigner), The Veronicas, Brooke McClymont (The McClymonts) and Adam Thompson (Chocolate Starfish). Glenn also performed as Lead Vocalist and Guitarist with Iconic Australian band Matt Finish Glenn’s solo recordings include Seven Seconds, Songs In Black & White, Lifeblood, Waking Up The Ghost Town, Booralie Road as well as the Last Chance Café EP, the Lemonjuice album The Sound Of Strawberry and the Kerosene country rock album, Art Of Survival.