Jack Derwin

Another Darwin Dry season regular, Sydneysider Jack Derwin returns with a suite of cruisy blues, rich with slide guitar, stomp box and harmonica. Throw into the mix some deep, smooth vocals, and you’ve got yourself a gorgeous evening of live music. 

By Liz Trevaskis

What was the first concert you ever went to? 

Deep Purple, Manfred Mann and Free – all on the same bill. I was 18. It was an open air concert at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. I lived in the country, eight hours drive northwest of Sydney, and came down in a friend’s car.                                      

What’s your favourite album of all time?

Solid Air from John Martyn because of its original sound and use of unusual acoustic guitar tunings with splashes of sax, electric guitar, double bass and drums – and John’s growling voice. The arrangements retain space and air and don’t clutter the sound. It’s an album which incorporates blues, folk and jazz beautifully and with so much emotion.

Finish this sentence. My friends would describe me as...

Young at heart with obsessive musical ideas. Sincere and creative but misplaces things. Engaging but with a tendency to be introverted too.              

Whose posters did you have stuck to the wall when you were a teenager?

The Beatles. I don't have the posters anymore but I still have some other memorabilia and vinyl.                                                   

Describe your sound in three words.                                            

Organic Bluesy Originals.

HOTEL DARWIN | Sat 16 Jul | 6.30pm | Free