2023 sees the St Kilda Festival return in its 42nd iteration and full glory along the sunny foreshore, streets and parkland.
A musical legacy spanning four decades is no mean feat. It’s not just endurance – it’s evolving to keep up the momentum, year after year. And it’s something one of the headline acts at this year’s festival – the Hoodoo Gurus – knows well.
The Hoodoo Gurus are heading up the Big Festival Sunday on 19 February. Today’s band line-up has held together most of the original members from 1981: lead singer and frontman Dave Faulkner, bassist Richard Grossman and guitarist and vocalist Brad Shepherd – with Nik Rieth on board as their drummer since 2015. Beyond being inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame, the Hoodoo Gurus are a household name, racking up a solid number of iconic hits (including Come Anytime, 1000 Miles Away and What’s My Scene) that have dominated airwaves, here and abroad.
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The band marked their own four-decade milestone with a bang last year, releasing their tenth studio album, Chariot of the Gods, kicking off a mighty tour and stepping up for some much-lauded last-minute shows filling in for Jimmy Barnes.
They’re back in the swing of things for 2023, hitting a string of summer festivals in Australia before their long-awaited rescheduled tour of the US and Brazil.
“The US tour we delayed three times, before we finally had to cancel it,” Dave said. “We just had no choice, but now we’ve rebooked it all, and it’s even bigger because after many years of trying we’re finally getting to Brazil and performing for that fanbase.”
The band didn’t sit idle through the Covid years either, managing to write and record an album that holds true to the same fist-pumping rock energy that defined their sound from the get-go.
“With that new album, we very much wanted to stake our claim as to why we’re here and that we still had music and artistic areas to explore,” Dave said. “We started recording before Covid, but then it became hard – mainly those periods where we couldn’t be in the same room. We’re not the sort of band that can create at a distance, we’ve gotta be together.
“But it felt like a reboot to me. We even approached the recording differently – more like our first album. Short bursts, releasing as singles. It was a bit more bespoke. We kept the creative process ticking along across the two years. Having a new drummer also made it a different experience. We’d been playing live for a while, but never recorded together. That’s why we also decided to do it as baby steps. We had time to grow the ideas rather than force them, and the direction revealed itself.”
St Kilda Festival goers can expect a setlist of Hoodoo Gurus classics and that fresh, revamped sound for their headline act. For Dave, the challenge of pleasing a mixed crowd of long-time devotees, newcomers and the in-betweens all in one show is undaunting.
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“We’re very lucky that the new songs have momentum of their own that everyone’s enjoyed,” he said. “So we have no qualms about putting in those songs when we feel like it, and also the songs people expect from us. I mean, they could probably write a letter to the ombudsman if we didn’t play the hits, but we do a smattering of things everyone will enjoy. And we find a lot of younger people know more of our songs than they think because they’ve grown up with them.
“On our album tour, we’ve been getting some of our best reviews ever. We can still go out there and nail it. Maybe you don’t wanna get too close and see the lines on our faces, but what you get from the show, it sounds and looks the same and feels right.”
2023 is a huge year for the band, but the St Kilda Festival has a special place in their hearts, and Australian music history.
“We have played the festival once before, back in the early 2000s,” Dave said. “It was a gorgeous day, incredibly great atmosphere. We loved it and had a ball, and recorded a live broadcast, too. Like a lot of bands, we’ve got a bit of a history with St Kilda. It’s where you cut your teeth in live gigs starting out. I don’t think St Kilda has changed that much – there’s still the seamy side. Which is good, you want a bit of grit to give it character. The grist to make the pearl.”
“And it’s an iconic festival, it’s an iconic location, it’s free and all ages – these things don’t happen a lot anymore in the festival scene, so we’re just happy to be part of the whole experience with other great acts.”
St Kilda Festival 2023 runs from Saturday February 18 to Sunday February 19. Check out the full lineup and find out more information at the St Kilda Festival website here.
This article was made in partnership with St Kilda Festival.
