Australian roots ensemble The Floating Bridges is looking to make friends, play to fans and have a great time in the South West.
The seven-piece band is excited to showcase its “bigger, fuller” sound at Bunbury’s Prince of Wales Hotel on Thursday, November 30, delivering a night of new and older tracks.
Vocalist and percussionist Dale Mallet said the trip marked the band’s fifth venture to Bunbury and Western Australia in the past two years.
He noted Bunbury and WA audiences responded favourably to their upbeat concoction of roots and reggae.
“We’re really keen to get back over and play to the people we’ve met over there in the past couple of years,” he said.
“We’ve been well looked after and it’s always a bit of fun down there in Bunbury so we’re keen to get amongst it again and bring some of our new music over.
“It is just about the music. Everyone is there to hear the music, have a good time, and meet and socialise with other people.”
The tour has followed up the release of new single Power, launched at July’s Queensland Music Festival.
The Floating Bridges have led the new single through Queensland, New South Wales and WA this year.
In discussing the new single, Mallet stated the track combined the band’s soulful sound with a poignant message.
The track calls for fair rights for the First Nations’ refugees left stranded around the globe.
“It was about nine months ago when we sat down, nutted it out and changed the format of it,” he said.
“What we’re trying to put across in the song is that “power to the people” means breaking down barriers between ‘us’ and ‘them’.”
The band has gone through a transformation in 2017, adding new band members and sounds to the mix.
The group also hit the studio to write and record new tracks for an upcoming album.
They have now set their sights on touring and working collaboratively in 2018.
Mallet, looking back on their journey, added the value of playing and touring with mates was essential.
“We’ve been mates for a lot of years now, we’ve travelled the country and toured internationally, and there’s still that buzz when we go on the road,” he said.
“We still love it, we’re still a good bunch of mates, and we’ve just fallen in love with playing music and that’s why we do it.”
Check out the Prince of Wales and The Floating Bridges websites for more.
