Matty's Birthday Bash is a spectacle to behold for those blues fans out there!

Doors 6 pm, Band at 7.30 pm

Duke of George presents

Matty T Wall Blues Bash

Matty T Wall’s Birthday Blues Bash is back on for 2024. Featuring 3 LEGENDS of the WA & Australian Music scene, The international slide guitar hero himself Dave Hole, Perth’s beloved blues-rock bad boy Michael Vdelli and the undisputed king of blues keyboards, Bob Patient. This combines the 3 bands of Dave Hole/Vdelli/Matty T Wall band together, with drummer Ric Whittle and bassist Greg Thompson and this evening will feature all musicians together on stage jamming over their favourite blues standards.

Every time this event happens, it is a spectacle to behold for those blues fans out there, reminiscent of something that could happen in Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago, but in none other than our favourite swanky New Orleans style Freo venue – the Duke of George. And you asked for it, so there is a large General Admission standing room space at front of the stage for dancing and grooving through the night and relaxing seated tables up the back and down the side for a more refined table service experience. A show like none other!

Matty T Wall:

From sweet blues to gritty, stomping, blues-rocking beats, and now having eight nominations in the prestigious Independent Blues Awards in the USA, a Western Australian Music Award win and three back-to-back Number One Australian Blues albums, this is a breakout Australian blues artist you do not want to miss out on seeing, as the Matty T Wall band returns from tour in Europe this year featuring two killer rhythm legends of the scene, Ric Whittle on drums and Greg Thompson on bass guitar.

2019 saw Wall duetting with USA blues guitar legends such as Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Kirk Fletcher, Kid Ramos and fellow West Australian, Dave Hole, and following that up with a scorching live album “Live Down Underground” for 2022 – this band made waves at major Blues Festivals across Australia and Europe.

"I've been aware of Matty for a while now and have been a big fan"-Walter Trout

“I'm sure everyone will love this. The guy is a picker"-Eric Gales

Dave Hole:

Dave Hole is Australia's premier internationally successful bluesman and a highly acclaimed slide guitar virtuoso. He first burst onto the international scene in 1991 with “Short Fuse Blues”, the first of his seven albums released on the prestigious Alligator Records label.  He is widely regarded as one of the all time slide guitar greats whose playing is infused with the spirit of such legends as Elmore James, Duane Allman and Johnny Winter.

Nine successful albums and countless tours of the U.S. and Europe have solidified Hole’s stature as one of the very best slide guitarists playing today and seen him headlining festivals in America, Germany, Denmark, Holland, France, Poland, Russia and Switzerland.  His two performances at the prestigious Leverkussen Blues Festival in Germany were televised nationally. Tours have also included performances in the UK, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

Dave Hole was born in England in 1948. At the age of four he moved with his family to Western Australia, settling in the hills outside of Perth, the place he still calls home. Being fairly isolated, his childhood was somewhat lonely and the young Hole sought solace in music via the family radio. He listened intently to the likes of Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers and Cliff Richards and the Shadows, being increasingly drawn to anything that featured a twangy guitar. By the age of eleven he had convinced his parents to buy him his first cheap instrument.  He was immediately smitten - and so began a lifelong passion for music and guitar in particular.

Michael Vdelli:

In the early 1990s singer and guitarist Michael Vdelli played with his father Basil in a duo called Billy & The Kid. They were something like the house band at Rottnest Island Lodge Resort on Rottnest Island .

Part of their show was inviting well-known musicians from the mainland to perform with them on their Wednesday Blues Night. Basil had known drummer Ric Whittle for a long time, which is why he was one of the first to be invited. Michael and Ric met for the first time. In 1994 they met again in the band Powershift, in which Ric stepped in from time to time before becoming a permanent member. However, when it became more and more difficult to survive financially with a cast of five musicians, Michael, Ric and bassist Roy Daniel decided to found the Trio Vdelli. Many musicians changed, but Michael and Ric always stayed together as the nucleus of the band.

Vdelli quickly made a name for themselves in the Perth club scene, and appeared in supporting acts, including. by ZZ Top , BB King and Buddy Guy followed. In 1999 the band recorded the CD Under The Spell with their compatriot Dave Hole , which received an ARIA Music Award for best blues album, and went on tour in Europe as his rhythm section. In the following year Vdelli dared to make the leap to Europe for the first time and since then have been able to build a loyal fan base there, especially in Germany.

Bob Patient:

Bob Patient is a mainstay in the WA music industry, a keyboard legend having played along side Chain, Fatty Lumpkin, Dave Hole, Vdelli, Datura4 and many other artists and bands, he is the epitome of tasty and exciting organ and keyboard playing in the blues and rock scene. A longtime member of the Perth Blues Club, and incredible organ player, there is no other like Bob Patient.