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Community Event @ Gresford, Hunter Valley

The community at Gresford in the upper Hunter Valley decided it was time to get everyone out and on the dance floor for a country dance…and this was it! Brilliant night and here’s what Louise had to say afterwards!

What a fabulous night at the Gresford Family Country Dance!

The Swamp Dawkins Band were amazing– mums, dads, kids and grandparents all on the dance floor together having the most wonderful time– a fantastic choice of music – it just couldn’t have been better!

Thank you to Michael and the band for their energy and enthusiasm.

It truly was a night to remember!l

 

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Corporate Conference @ Dashville for The Flight Centre

Dashville has to be one of the best outdoor venues we’ve played at and it was a delight to be invited by The Flight Centre to play for the opening night of their conference. With around d450+ guests, it was a night full of energy and a sensational time for everyone…And here’s what Bec and Sarah had to say afterwards!

 

Michael and the team at Swamp Dawkins were a dream to work with. The lead up was seamless and the night ran incredibly well. The barn dance calls were perfect and everyone at the event joined in and had a great time. Thanks guys for making our opening night of the conference one to remember!

Bec

Swamp Dawkins gave us the best night- these guys are phenomenal! I have never seen so many non dancers hit the floor to learn some moves! Much more than just a band- these are real entertainers. 3 encores before management stepped in to tell them we had to stop!

Sarah

 

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150th Anniversary @ The OConnell Pub

A roadtrip always goes down well and this one out to O’Connell near Bathurst for the pub’s 150th anniversary was sensational….And here’s what Michelle had to say afterwards!

Couldn’t have asked for a better night!  The village of O’Connell came out in force – and wasn’t disappointed.  Great time was had by all. A month after the event customers are stoping me in the street wanting to know when Swamp Dawkins will be back?!

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Wedding @ Arcadia

It’s always a special privilege to play at people’s weddings and this one, for David and Amanda, was no exception and here’s what they sent us afterwards…

We just wanted to say a huge thank-you for helping us celebrate our wedding!

Prior to the wedding we found you were very eager to answer all our questions and make the planning go as smoothly as possible- which it did! On the day the guests were raving about your professional and relaxed manner– they loved arriving to soft acoustic music. Two friends commented that “It was great, sitting on the grass with a beer in hand watching them go!”.

Although I wasn’t involved with lots of the minor details on the night from my perspective it seemed as if people were working well, sharing the stage/ equipment etc. People loved the way the music changed as night fell as things started to pick up. A huge favourite of mine was the called dancing- everyone was laughing and having such a great time. If my husband wasn’t so eager to leave I would have loved to keep dancing! The only complaint we had from guests was that the party ended too early…but the said even 4am in the morning would be too soon!

Our first dance was lovely, thankyou for helping us with that. That song holds a special place in my husband’s heart and it will continue to do so! If we ever get married again (hopefully not!!!) we would book you!

Thanks again,

David and Amanda

 

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Themed Staff End of Year Christmas Parties

Looking for something different for this years staff or office Christmas End of Year Staff Party?

It’s time for you to dust off your boots and kick up your heels for a hoedown!

It’s cowboys & cowgirls, spit roasts, a mechanical bull and a country band who will keep everyone on the dance floor all night with called barn, bush and line dances as well as a whole lot of other toe-tapping music.

Swamp Dawkins will get everyone away from the bar and onto the dance floor- caught in the moment- swinging and sliding, twisting and twirling the night away for an amazing night to remember.

Here are just some of our amazing references!

“The band were amazing!”… “A fabulous night”… “Truly a night to remember”… “The guests raved about you!”… “Professional all the way”… “A sensational night”…”So easy to deal with”… “A huge success”… “You and your team were a delight to work with!”… “Professional and relaxed”… “Created a great atmosphere”… “Our company had a blast!”… “Extremely memorable”… “Outstanding”… “Thank you to Swamp Dawkins for making the evening a huge success!”… “The band worked brilliantly!”… “A night to never forget!”… “The fabulous Swamp Dawkins Band were exceptional!”… “The best finale dinner of the conference ever!”… “Phenomenal!”… “A highly professional line up of musicians with a keen interest in meeting their clients’ expectations and enhancing any occasion.”… “These guys are truly great!”… “Everybody was dancing all night”… “Terrific performance!”… “The atmosphere the band created was excellent”… “Couldn’t have asked for a better night!”… “The dance floor was packed!”… “I would highly recommend Swamp Dawkins to anyone!”

And yes- these are just some of the references we’ve had from corporates clients, event organisers & private clients for their staff parties, client events, milestone birthdays, weddings, community events and the list goes on.

So Dust off your Boots— and have a hoedown this year! 

Bush Dances | Barn Dances | Hoedowns | Americana | Iconic Australian

Corporate Entertainment | Weddings | Private Parties | Crowd Activation | Festivals | Community Events

 

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Corporate Clients

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)
  • Coburns Distillery (Opening event)
  • Retail Apparel Group  (Christmas Party)
  • Phil Gilbert Motors  (Christmas Party)
  • Sportsnet Holidays (Bathurst Races & NRL Grand Final VIP groups)
  • Penrith City Council  (Australia Day Event)
  • Beyond Events  (Corporate Conference)
  • Dungog Film Festival  (Film Festival Entertainment)
  • Commonwealth Bank (Staff Event)
  • Amway Latin America (Sales Conference)
  • OnStage Entertainment (Corporate Entertainment)
  • The Goring Hotel (Client Entertainment/ Product Launch)
  • Twenty3 Group  (Stadium Australia Crowd Activation)
  • Bob Wood Cruise Group  (Cruise Ship On-Board Entertainment)
  • Professional Housekeepers Association (NSW)   (Annual Dinner)
  • SureSearch  (Corporate Weekend)
  • Fairmont Resort  (Corporate Conference)
  • Eleanora Heights Golf Club  (Summer Event)
  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals/ iNova  (Corporate Conference)
  • PLC  (Anniversary Celebrations)
  • Wesley College  (O-Week Program)
  • Pymble Golf Club  (Summer Entertainment Program)
  • NSW Child Care Co-operative  (Annual Conference)
  • UTS Insearch (Student Event)
  • Buick Car Club of Australia  (Annual Rally)
  • Broken Bay Diocese  (End of Year Staff Event)
  • Hartmann Medical (Corporate conference)
  • Abbott Diagnostics (Corporate conference)
  • G1 Productions (Event planner/ Corporate EOY Party)
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A belated birthday and barn opening celebration

Swamp DawkinsWe 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.

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A night by the Harbour Bridge on the MSC Orchestra Cruise Ship

Swamp Dawkins MSC OrchestraA 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.

Swamp Dawkins MSC OrchestraWe 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

It was a nice evening with the band. We have been back in Germany for over a week and still often talk about our trip to Australia and the evening in Sydney. Best wishes to for the continued success of the band.

Christiane from Germany - MSC Orchestra Cruise Ship - Sydney Harbour - March 2015 March 17, 2015

 

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Wesley College O-Week Bushdance/Hoedown

Wesley CollegeThanks 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!

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O’Connell Hotel 150th Anniversary!

Swamp Dawkins O'Connell Hotel BushdanceThere’s nothing like serendipity!

We got a call not so long ago from Michelle Webb who runs the O’Connell Hotel, halfway between Bathurst and Oberon about 3hours west of Sydney across the mountains.

“We’re having our 150th for our historic pub which was built back in 1865 and we want a bushdance – a night of dancing and celebrating – can you help us?”

For sure. Without a doubt!

Later on I told my mum where we were playing – she grew up in the country and all of us have travelled a lot on the other side of the Blue Mountains over the years.  Apparently my cousin (who I hadn’t seen in probably 25years) lives right across the road from the pub so Michelle’s call turned out to be a chance to play for my rellos as well! Serendipity indeed.

Swamp Dawkins O'Connell Hotel BushdanceMichelle had planned a weekend of celebrations, including an outdoor film on the Firday night, followed by the bushdance on Saturday.  Everyone was definitely in the festive mood with 250 or so people from the area turning up to dust off their boots and hit the dance floor for the bushdance.  Swamp Dawkins also played a follow up Sunday afternoon session over lunch to show our thanks to Michelle for inviting us to play.

We had an absolute ball – below is a little clip of the dancing on the night, and you can check out our photos and share these through the Swamp Dawkins Facebook page.

Couldn’t have asked for a better night!  The village of O’Connell came out in force – and wasn’t disappointed.  Great time was had by all.

A month after the event customers are stoping me in the street wanting to know when Swamp Dawkins will be back?!

Michelle Webb, Licensee - O'Connell Pub's 150th - O'Connell, Bathurst - February 2015 February 7, 2015

A final tip: if you’re ever on your way to Bathurst from Sydney, take the scenic route. Turn off at Lithgow, drive the state’s “big dipper” road (trust me – you’ll know it when you see it), make your way through Tarana, head on to O’Connell and say g’day to Michelle from us! Fantastic beer garden, great food, very child friendly with lots of room to run around and there’s a cafe just across the road for a breakfast starter in the morning. Hope you enjoy it just as much as we did!

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Allview Escape Wedding Hoedown Bushdance

“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

Swamp Dawkins played at our wedding and WE HAD A BALL!! They played unplugged during dinner and people were already saying how great the music was, then they called some barn dances and people had so so so much fun!!! They played other songs too, not just called dances and the dance floor was packed! They were all really nice guys too! After them we had a DJ, the night was so fun! Lots of people said best wedding ever!!! I highly recommend them!

Patricia - Wedding - Blackheath - Jan 2015 February 3, 2015

 

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Phil Gilbert Motor Group Corporate Hoedown

10704179_556143357849785_7159966675794448162_nWe had a lot of fun with the cowboys and cowgirls at Phil Gilbert Motor Group for their end-of-year hoedown!  Many thanks to Simone for inviting us to celebrate with your team – you organised a fantastic night and it was pleasure playing for you, meeting your team, and helping you all dance the night away!

Great also to meet up again with John ‘The Bullman’ running the mechanical bull. We’ve done a few functions where John has run the ring and it’s always a lot of fun. If you’re looking for a mechanical bull for your next event check out John The Bullman!

10382743_556144477849673_3278573260782101617_nThe party was at Dooley’s Catholic Club at Lidcombe and was a great venue for a hoedown in the function room upstairs.  The room was dressed with red, black and white cow-print themed balloons and the tables were strewn with red and white tablecloths with cowboys and horses – great theming Simone!

We really enjoyed meeting the team at Phil Gilbert – everyone was so friendly and just a pleasure to be around.  Big thanks to Drew for the video footage as well.

Thanks again for having us play and we look forward to another hoedown down the track! Check out our photos in our gallery or on the Swamp Dawkins Facebook page.

TESTIMONIAL

We booked the Swamp Dawkins Band for our Cowboy themed Christmas Party for 120 staff of all ages. Michael was easy to deal with and prompt in his communications. The band was excellent value for money. On the night the set up was seamless and very professional. All the band members were polite and professional and were happy to adjust their sets to accommodate our timetable. The show was first class.

Everyone enjoyed the music played during dinner, all well known favourites and I saw everyone singing along. The dancing afterwards was fantastic fun. Ian was a great caller, easy to follow and everyone was encouraged to get involved. We all ended the night laughing and exhausted! It was a great way to bring people together. Our staff are still talking about the party and how the atmosphere that the Swamp Dawkins Band provided really “made” the night.

I would highly recommend the Swamp Dawkins Band for a fun filled night of music and dancing.

Simone Gilbert, Director - Phil Gilbert Motors - Dooleys, Lidcombe - November 2014 February 4, 2015