Swamp Dawkins ~ Dust Your Boots Off!
Bushdances & Barndances, Hoedowns & Honkytonks, Country Dances & Wild West Nights, Iconic Australian Music & Classic American Roadhouse Country
We’ve been invited by SportsNet holidays to play for their guest several times and this one, on board the John Cadman II was fantastic. The cruise was part of the NRL Grand Final pre-game entertainment for the SportsNet guests… absolute pleasure to play for everyone on their way to the stadium.
We’ve done a fantastic few gigs up at the Fairmont Resort Leura for corporate conferences and retreats. The team there always put on a fantastic night…
Swamp Dawkins at Bathurst Races for SportsNet Holidays!
We’ve been doing an increasing amount of events for Corporate Clients– conferences, staff parties, weekends away. All of them fantastic nights that get people involved, up from their tables, away from the bar, and onto the dance floor. Here’s a list of just some of the corporate clients we’ve entertained:
Atlassian (Staff event)
Thanks to Donna and Paul Wallis for having us play at your combined 50th birthdays and 25h wedding anniversary! The band made a weekend roadtrip of it – staying at the Argyle Inn ,Taralaga just 10mins from Donna and Paul’s property.
The property had a beautiful sunset view from the marquis on the hill while we played some quiet music over dinner to settle everyone in before the tables were cleared for dancing.
After a few heart-pumping songs that got everyone on the dance floor we slipped into a couple of bushdances before having a break for the formalities. After a few speeches, we settled into the rest of the evening with anything and everything from our catalogue of songs that kept everyone on the dance floor.
We even got to roll out Mamma Mia by ABBA and Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi – surely we must be the only bushband around the traps who can start the night with Kenny Rogers before finishing with ABBA, AC/DC and Bon Jovi whilst fitting in bushdances in between!
One of the guest gave us a great compliment when he said “you guys can do everything” and another guest who said “there was something for everyone – no-one had an excuse not to dance!”. That’s what we love to hear – everyone, young and old, was up and at it!
TESTIMONIAL
We had a fantastic gig recently down at a beautiful property between Bundanoon and Exeter for a couple celebrating a 70th birthday and the unveiling of a completely restored historic barn!
We had a special request for music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and so the night was a mix of bushdancing and dance hits from the 60’s – She’s so fine (Easybeats), I saw her standing there (Beatles), Route 66 (Rolling Stones), Johnny B Good (Chuck Berry), Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochrane) just to name a few.
Our hosts put on a fantastic night – from the catering, to the setting, the support band performing music before dinner from a local couple, and then the night of endless dancing with Swamp Dawkins.
As far as parties go – we do a lot of 21sts, 30ths, 40ths and 50ths – but this was our first 70th and they definitely showed us you are as young as you feel! A very memorable night all round.
A memorable night aboard the MSC Orchestra playing to their passengers and guests to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and welcome everyone to beautiful Sydney.
Our brief was Australian music with a special request for “I still call Australia Home” and something worthy of St Patrick’s Day celebrations – many of the passengers were from Europe and wanted a taste of Australia, and the rest of the passengers were Australian and were in the mood for a taste of home.
We took a musical trip through Australian music – the Easybeats from the 60’s, AC/DC from the 70’s, Men at Work from the 80’s, Paul Kelly and INXS from the 90’s (give or take a few decades in that list!) and slipped in some bushdancing in the middle with an Irish jig to keep St Patrick smiling.
It’s proving to be a great formula – mixing well known songs done in our own Swampy style with bush, barn and square dancing to get everyone involved. When people book Swamp Dawkins for their events they have an idea or a theme in mind, but the key aim of the event is getting people on the dance floor and enjoying the party – that’s what we do!
Thanks to all the passengers and crew from the MSC Orchestra for having us look after you and welcome you to Sydney! Check out our photos in our gallery or on Facebook.
TESTIMONIAL
Thanks again to Sydney University’s Wesley College for having Swamp Dawkins play your annual bushdance during O-Week celebrations – what an awesome to top off the week!
Another great night of live music and bush, barn, and square dancing – and getting chaotic with a mix of great hits by Kenny Rogers, Johhny Cash, Paul Kelly and AC/DC just to name a few!
Look forward to doing it again next year!
“We’ve got a wedding. We want an hour of music over dinner – but it has to be quiet enough for people to talk otherwise…well – otherwise…” – Check.
“We then want an hour of bush dancing after dinner” – Double Check.
“And then we want an hour of ‘wild music’ after that. And maybe more than an hour!” – Triple Check.
Lock it in!
We get all kinds of requests – increasingly though, more and more people are looking for a hybrid night of bush dancing / barn dancing / square dancing to get everyone up and mixing, combined with good party music for people to kick on.
The wedding for Patricia – Paddy and Phid more correctly! – was one of those. Similar to the recent gigs with Phil Gilbert and at the O’Connell Hotel – the bush dancing is n’t just about bush dancing: it’s about getting everyone out of their chairs, up on their feet and swinging around the dance floor, mixing with everyone, with no shortage of smiles and everyone being in the moment.
Below is a little video of the dancing on the night, set to Michael’s original ‘At the Honkytonk’.
The bush dancing gets people up without fail and the night just takes off from there be it with more bush dancing, bopping to music from the 60’s/70’s/80’s, or rocking to iconic Australian hit songs from Paul Kelly to AC/DC, or Americana country and swampy blues.
The venue for Patricia’s wedding – Allview Escape at Blackheath – has to have one of the best views in the Blue Mountains with the marquis overlooking the magnificent valleys and escarpments that make up the iconic Blue Mountains. The gourmet BBQ, summer evening setting, guests very much in the celebratory mood, and a fantastic newly wed couple made for the perfect recipe for a night to remember.
Patricia – thanks again for inviting us to play – it’s a serious privilege to play at people’s weddings and we couldn’t be happier for you and Phid. Thanks for letting us be part of your day!
TESTIMONIAL