Advertisement
BOURBON STREET on ROCK THE BOAT VOL II 2025https://www.rocktheboatvol2.com.au
Australian four-piece rock band Bourbon Street (all original members) formed in Byron Bay, NSW, in early 1987. The band enjoyed immediate success on the live circuit as a 70’s-styled high-energy cover band and soon began writing their own songs.
During the next 6 years, Bourbon Street performed more live shows than any other band in Australia. They won multiple awards and released three albums before disbanding in September of ‘93.
Their debut LP, ‘Stronger Than Dirt’ (1988) opens with a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Powderfinger’ - the band’s traditional opener for live shows. A young Brisbane-based group at the time were largely influenced by Bourbon Street and chose the song’s title as their band’s namesake – Powderfinger.
Meanwhile, ‘Stronger Than Dirt’ went on to become a cult classic. It was re-pressed four times and is still in popular demand today.
In 2005, the band started writing again and began touring their native Northern Rivers area. Their fourth album, ‘Banned for Life’ (co-produced by Powderfinger’s Ian Haug) was released in February, 2007. The album yielded 3 minor hits with ‘Silver Dollar’, ‘Natural Blonde’ and ‘Rosie’s Bar & Grill’, all receiving extensive airplay in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
A communal mid-life crisis hit the band shortly after the album’s release and the group went their separate ways for the next several years. In November of 2013, the band was lured out of assumed retirement by the Airlie Beach Music Festival organiser, Gavin Butlin. The reunion ushered in a successful return to the stage and brought the band back together.
Since then, Bourbon Street have regrouped regularly for special appearances in and around their Northern Rivers area. Their current repertoire features fan-faves from their albums and the usual mix of high-energy covers from the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Stones, AC/DC and the like.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay, Quay, Circular Quay W, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia, Sydney
