Franks Wild Years and Great Southern Nights presents:
Dave Mason (The Reels) w/ Brendan Gallagher (Karma County) + support by Elmo Aoyama. Saturday 16 March, 3pm. Franks Wild Years, 3/2A Raymond Rd, Thirroul NSW.

Dave Mason (The Reels) plays Franks Wild Years on Saturday 16 March! We love The Reels, and it is an honour to be able to host an intimate performance by the lead singer and songwriter.

The Reels began in Dubbo in the late 70s, playing sophisticated, high energy pop with a strong suburban Australian aesthetic and sense of humour in the lyrical themes and visuals. The music became slower and more atmospheric in the early 80s, utilising primitive electronic instruments to deconstruct and rebuild iconic covers like ‘This Guy’s In Love (With You)’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising’. While they might have had more hits with their unique take on other people’s songs, their original ‘Quasimodo’s Dream’ has become widely recognised as an Australian classic.

Since The Reels disbanded in the early 90s (after one of their best singles ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’), Dave Mason has played in bands sporadically with people like Reg Mombassa and Pete O’Doherty (Dog Trumpet, Mental As Anything), Lindy Morrison and Amanda Brown (The Go-Betweens), and released Reelsville, an album of acoustic versions of Reels songs.

Karma County front man Brendan Gallagher, producer of over forty albums in as many years, including Jimmy Little’s instant classic Messenger, joins Dave on acoustic guitar.

Support comes from Elmo Aoyama, Sydney-based, Tokyo-born synth artist and vocalist curiously exploring the relationship between memory, time and space. Layering synths, tuned percussion and vocals, Elmo’s live sets take you on a sensory journey through organised chaos and nostalgia.

Great Southern Nights 2024 will take place from 8-24 March 2024 featuring more than 300 gigs across 17 nights throughout Sydney’s inner city and Western Sydney, as well as shows in seven key music communities across NSW, including Tamworth, Wagga, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Northern Rivers.