Sydney’s Hot Potato Band bring their exuberant brand of funky, feel-good sounds to the Barwon Club this Sunday, October 15.
In their own words, Hot Potato Band have reinvented the traditional New Orleans brass band into a “modern day dance machine”.
Featuring three drummers, a sousaphone, a five-piece horn section and a charismatic frontman, the collective has one purpose: to inspire good times.
Drummer Simon Ghali, who was instrumental in bringing the band together nearly 15 years ago, said fun was at the heart of Hot Potato Band’s performances.
“Over time we’ve kind of developed a way to really spread the joy that we feel in music and share that with the audience,” Ghali said.
“It’s something I guess we had to find a way to do, being a band that was on the street, often performing in places (where) people weren’t expecting a band, or expecting to dance; finding a way to get them moving and feeling good.
“Over time we started to realise that a lot of people were resonating with how we were making them feel, really brightening their days and things like that.
“So we really lean in on the joyous, the celebratory, the almost escapism from the day to day. You can just have fun; everything – well, almost everything – is on the table.”
The Sunday session starts with Geelong’s own Sweethearts at 4.30pm, which Ghali said was the perfect match for the Sydneysiders.
“The Sweethearts are just an incredible group,” he said.
“We’ve had the pleasure of working with them in a workshop context and we’re really excited to have their energy on stage just before us.”
