Haute mess: Versace Boys take the stage at M-Arts Precinct

VERSACE Boys will bring their chaotic blend of satirical pop-hop to Murwillumbah’s M-Arts Precinct on 2 May, leaning into absurdity, spectacle and improvisation.

The Byron Bay duo, made up of Will Henderson and Alex ‘Coasty’ Johnson, blurs the line between band, performance and satire, taking aim at influencer culture, gentrification and the region’s spiritualist scene.

“It’s the perfect inspiration,” Henderson said of Byron Bay.

“It’s the melting pot of so many things to joke about.

“Everyone is putting on a bit of a show.”

Henderson said the act draws on influences from Flight of the Conchords, Dave Chappelle and Theo Von, while maintaining strong musical foundations.

“We can all play,” he said.

“I studied at the Sydney Conservatorium and lived in Europe for 10 years playing over 50 festivals a year.”

“Serious bands were fun but now it’s just time to party and make people freak out a bit.”

The project began after the pair met in Europe, when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out their previous musical work.

“Everything went ass up and we just ended up moving to Byron Bay because the waves were good,” Henderson said.

From there, Versace Boys developed as a performance focused on entertainment over seriousness.

“We’ve both been through so many bands and realised we just wanted to entertain and make people feel happy at this stage,” he said.

Their live shows rely heavily on improvisation, with Henderson estimating that between 40 to 70 per cent of the lyrics is freestyled.

“It’s a beautiful thing to be creative, let your hair down and think on the spur of the moment with an appreciative crowd,” he said.

That spontaneity can occasionally land them in trouble.

“It’s mainly at kid-friendly gigs like local markets where we get the odd complaint,” he said.

“My band mate Alex can have less of a filter than I do – he can get a bit excited.”

Their willingness to push boundaries has also inspired new material, including a track titled Cancelled in Melbourne, based on a confrontation at Esoteric Festival.

“This woman came up to us and said, ‘You’re not allowed to rap because you’re culturally appropriating black people,'” Henderson said.

“Alex was doing some stretches at the time, and she told him, ‘You’re not allowed to do yoga because that’s also culturally appropriating Indians.’

“This kind of stuff is a gold mine.”

The Murwillumbah show will feature tracks from their latest EP Almost Vulnerable, which satirises modern masculinity.

“Suddenly you’re less of a person if you’re not super open and vulnerable, journal all day and wear flowing linen garments,” Henderson said.

But the act aims to be playful rather than malicious.

“Everyone around here takes themselves pretty seriously in the influencer and shaman realms, so it’s fun to take a couple of pot shots at them,” he said.

“Our music works best at festivals where everyone is there to have a good time.”

The name Versace Boys reflects the act’s comedic contrast with high fashion.

“We thought it was funny because we’re the furthest thing from high fashion,” he said.

“We’re just mad bogans from Mullumbimby having a laugh.”

Audiences can take time to adjust to the performance style.

“It normally takes big crowds about three songs to get it,” he said.

“Before that, people are like, ‘What is this? Yuck!’ but then they figure out we’re just extremely extra.”

Henderson said the shows rely on props and costume changes to build an exaggerated stage presence.

“We’ve been to heaps of festivals and seen heaps of acts and realized that you need some theatrics to stand out,” he said.

“So, we’re always op-shopping finding weird stuff just anything to blow people’s minds.

“We do three or four costume changes, crowd surf on sparkly unicorns, and get out a giant inflatable penis puppet, so it’s a wild ride.”

Versace Boys will perform at Murwillumbah’s M-Arts Precinct from 6pm to 10pm.

Tickets are available through Humanitix.