Bizarre Bazaar with Zenekar & Vez

Stop by West End's newest venue Mirrorball Ministries (access via Boundary street, FKA AHEPA Hall) for a delicious cocktail, and be blown away by bombastic beats, silly segues and phenomenal music.

Zenekar is Catharina Kemp - Clarinet & Bass Clarinet, John Reeves - Accordion, Samuel Vincent - Double Bass and Dave Kemp - Percussion.

They are a group of adventurous musicians who love exploring a wide variety of musical styles and cultures. They dive head first into improvisation to craft their own unique sound, all inspired by the rich traditions of global folk music. Tonight they will present original material recently recorded for their debut studio album to be released in early 2026. Their previous recording live at the Brisbane Ethnic Music & Arts Centre (BEMAC) on the Jazz in Meanjin series (4000 Records) was a finalist for the Qld Music Award 2024 in the World category. Perhaps the Zenekar sound is best summed up by John (Accordion) during a session at Alchemix Studio saying “each piece is like its own little musical universe of its own”.

VEZ is an experimental folk-improvisational quartet with roots spanning the globe. Drawing deeply on the traditions of Bosnian Sevdalinka, Sephardic music and regional Balkan folk song, they explore what it is to take a song apart and put it back together again in a way that both honours tradition and breaks with it. Comprised of vocalist Caro Manins, guitarist/vocalist Pavle Banović, double bassist Goran Gajić and percussionist Malindi Morris, VEZ seeks to find new ways to explore old stories and folk songs.  

Band members: 

Caro Manins

Caro Manins aka Carolina Moon, is a UK-born multi-faceted singer, composer and performer, whose diverse project palette reflects the many colours of her musical spirit, drawing inspiration from medieval and traditional world musics and contemporary jazz.  She has performed across New Zealand, the Greater Pacific, Australia, the UK and Europe, India and China, walking a personal and intimate path through the lore and traditions of medieval and world song, travelling through the spiritual heartlands of Spain, India and France. She sings in many multi-lingual contexts, including songs in Ladino, Medieval Spanish derivatives, French, Medieval French, Greek, Gaelic and English. Her Sephardic CD Mother Tongue has received critical acclaim and has toured nationally and internationally.

Pavle Banović

Pavle Banović is a Serbian-Australian guitarist and vocalist known for his mesmerising, trancelike guitar riffs that evoke a hypnotic atmosphere. Blending the raw emotional intensity of folk traditions with a grunge-inspired vocal delivery he crafts a unique sound that bridges Balkan folk music and indie. His singing captures the haunting spirit of Serbian folk songs, drawing from the rich musical heritage of the Balkans and the rebellious edge of 1990s grunge, standing out as an emerging musician to watch in the contemporary Balkan music scene.

Goran Gajić 

Goran Gajić is a Bosnian-Australian instrumentalist and composer with many years’ touring experience in Europe and Australia with different ensembles. In 2017, he founded the contemporary modal/ethno jazz group East of West in which he plays double bass and composes music that draws from the musical traditions of the Balkans and Mediterranean, as well as European jazz music traditions. In 2023, East of West was nominated for an ARIA for ‘Best world music album’ for their second album, Moving Home.

Malindi Morris 

Malindi Morris is a percussionist and occasional composer who draws inspiration from the Mediterranean, Balkans, Türkiye, and Iran, and specialises in frame drums and hand percussion. Morris has studied, composed and performed in Australia and Europe with various ensembles such as ARIA-nominated Australian trio East of West and her Slovenian ensemble Lastovka. Her past projects in Australia include extensive work with Balkan folk projects such as award-winning ethno-folk group Mzaza. She has also worked with Čardak, Kučibaba, The Transbalkan Express and Vihor, with performances at folk and multicultural festivals such as the Woodford Folk Festival, The National Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Tablelands folk festival, Brisbane Festival, Scheherazade Festival, the National Multicultural Festival, and the Queensland Multicultural Festival.

$12 online & on the door | $10 cash