WALKER BROTHERS arrive

The Teskey Brothers tore up last year’s Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF) with their old-school Motown infused set and now the Walker brothers have arrived.

After gathering a mass following on the Gold Coast where they were born, brothers Tane and Soren Walker made the move to Melbourne where band The Cool Calm was born.

“We formed the band in 2016 with our bassist Aiden McMillan and drummer Anthony ‘Shorty’ Murray. We did our thing up and down the East Coast but there’s only so far you can go whereas Melbourne is the catalyst for live music,” Tane said.

“There’s a million things going on and we needed to a part of something bigger.”

With a sound self-described as influenced by “boozy all-night jam sessions and years spent worshipping at the altar of neo-soul greats, the blues fire breathers, dub-plate masters and hiphop moguls”, the boys are ready to wow audiences at QMF.

“We can’t wait, it’s going to be a lot of fun. None of us have been before apart from our drummer, he plays for a couple of bands. We’re excited to just see it and come along,” he said.

Tane said they love performing live, having recently opened for Dan Sultan’s sold out Australian tour as well as the Red Deer Festival in QLD with a debut album set for release.

“I love live gigs because it’s always nice to hear feedback about your music, if you can get the people moving and singing along to something you’ve written what’s more fun than that.

“It’s a great validation when people are asking for more and enjoy what you’ve done. Of course, we like a beer and people so there’s that side to it, too.”

Playing over the two days, Tane said they band was staying for the entirety of the weekend and was looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere.

“We enjoy meeting the bands and hanging out with everyone, we’re massive music fans. It’s quiet nerve wracking. I’d heard about QMF but didn’t understand the gravity of it and how big and developed it is,” he said.

“There’s so many artists that influence us. A couple that have been instrumental in forming our sound is G. Love & Special sauce, that’s where I got my flow from; I like Sublime but it’s such an eclectic mix including Lauren Hill, hip-hop, RnB, Bob Marley and then the soul stuff.”

To get tickets and see the full program, head to qmf.net.au.