Live Band Performance at 60th Birthday Party

My email sign-off says, “Celebrate Being Alive”. This is because life is unpredictable. Adversity appears without notice. Bad things can happen at any time. So, we need to take time out to acknowledge that we are still here and celebrate being alive with the people we love.

During Easter, 2024, my band was booked to play at Jen’s 60th birthday party. Two things made this booking different to most. Firstly, it was out of Sydney in a small village called Taralga. Secondly, we were booked for two performances rather than one. Rather than a birthday “party”, this was a birthday “festival”!

Taralga is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. It is directly north of Goulburn. Taralga is known for being close to the Wombeyan Caves and as a stop off on the road between Goulburn and Bathurst.

Boths nights were with my four-piece band. Our first performance was on the Thursday, (the night prior to Good Friday). This was in a marquee at the client’s property in Taralga. We played for five hours, starting off with jazz in their garden before launching into rock and pop and soul and funk in the marquee. Their property is quite large and many of their guests camped in tents or in camper vans. It was very much like a mini music festival.

Our second night’s performance was at a venue in the main street call The Argyle Inn. This was on the evening of Good Friday. This was another five hour performance, starting with two sets outside in the beer garden, followed by two long sets inside. We totally rocked the joint!

Then, on the Saturday, we headed back to Sydney. Job done. Many new memories of celebrating being alive had been created. The job was done, and the people were happy.