Swing on This is made up of musical theatre leading men, Michael Falzon,

Luke Kennedy Luke Kennedy is an Australian performer best known for placing second on the second season of ''The Voice (Australia)''. He has also toured internationally with the Ten Tenors and performed the title role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' in six d ...

, Matt Lee,

Rob Mills Robert Mills (born 21 June 1982) is an Australian actor, television host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of ''Australian Idol''. He co-hosted the late-night quiz show '' The Mint'', and was a regular sin ...

and

Ben Mingay Ben Mingay is an Australian actor and singer, perhaps best known for having played Buzz Graham in the series '' Packed to the Rafters'' and Rob Duffy in ''Wonderland''. He played the role of Billy in the stage version of ''Dirty Dancing'' in Aus ...

, singing a collection of classic swing songs reworked with a more contemporary style, as well as more recent popular music arranged for an 18 piece big band. Although songs range from

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

and

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

through to more recent influences like

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Swing on This includes a medley of Australian classic rock and pop.

History

Swing on This was originally conceived by Michael Falzon and had been in development for several years. Initially produced by Good Egg Creative and Asia Theatricals as a one-off, stand alone cabaret act specifically for the

Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ...

, Swing on This debuted on 7 June 2014. Falzon claimed his intent was not about creating a boy band, but a group of "mates coming together and having a sing." He added that "The strength of this show is based on individual personalities and everyone brings something different." Following Adelaide Cabaret Festival, they performed as the headline act at both the official black tie launch of the refurbished Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on 25 July and at the community concert the next evening, again playing to a full house. Falzon, Lee, Kennedy and Mingay were accompanied by the

Perth Symphony Orchestra The Perth Symphony Orchestra (PSO), or simply Perth Symphony, is a not-for-profit professional symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. The orchestra aims to broaden access to classical music by performing in places and spaces not n ...

Big Band, part of the newly formed Perth Symphony Touring Ensemble. The freshly arranged Australian pop section was performed in Sydney for the first time at the

Rob Guest Endowment Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...

concert on 13 October 2014. Their Gold Coast debut followed in March 2015 at Queensland's 1100 seat Arts Theatre. Swing on This made their television debut on Channel 9 Gold Telethon, 8 June 2015, a fundraiser for

Sydney Children's Hospital Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, is an Australian children's hospital located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. On 1 July 2010 it became part of the newly formed Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (Randwick and Westmea ...

. This performance included Mingay, Falzon and Lee. Kennedy and Falzon performed as Swing on This in Perth, Western Australia with

Big Band for The Pinnacle Awards. Swing On This was originally choreographed and directed by

Christopher Horsey Christopher Horsey (born 11 July 1972) is an Australian entertainer, director, choreographer and performing arts teacher. Early life Horsey learnt to perform, teach and choreograph from his mother, Kay Horsey, who had a dance school for 26 years ...

with Musical Direction by

Craig Schneider __NOTOC__ Craig may refer to: Geology *Craig (landform), a rocky hill or mountain often having large casims or sharp intentations. People (and fictional characters) *Craig (surname) *Craig (given name) Places Scotland *Craig, Angus, aka Barony of ...

. Music for Swing On This was arranged by

Richard Sidwell Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, whom Falzon had worked with on ''Music of Queen: Rock and Symphonic Spectacular''.

Members

Whilst retaining its identity as a specific act, Swing on This also refers to the members of the cast. As Falzon describes it: "Rather than putting together a boy band it's about mates coming together and having a sing," Founding members of Swing on This include Michael Falzon, Luke Kennedy, Matt Lee, and Ben Mingay, all seasoned performers in their own right. Rob Mills joined in 2015, as a fifth member, due in part to Lee temporarily returning to Mary Poppins in the UK. The structure of Swing on This is specifically designed for a certain amount of fluidity, allowing the members to continue their individual careers and commitments. On 23 June 2020, producer and founding member Michael Falzon died after a year long battle with

germ cell cancer Germ or germs may refer to: Science * Germ (microorganism), an informal word for a pathogen * Germ cell, cell that gives rise to the gametes of an organism that reproduces sexually * Germ layer, a primary layer of cells that forms during embryo ...

Guest performers

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song "Pash" received a gold sa ...

ARIA Hall of Fame singer songwriter Ceberano joined Swing on This on stage for their Adelaide Cabaret Festival debut performance. The successful soul, jazz and pop singer was in her final year as Director of the festival. She again joined Falzon, Kennedy, Mingay and Mills at a charity performance to raise funds for the Otis Foundation. *Mini Mes Four young male tap dancers were recruited for the Swing on This Gold Coast performance in Surfers Paradise. Riley Brooker, Harmi Davis, Kieren Bofinger and Brady Burchill were chosen by producer Michael Falzon and choreographer Christopher Horsey to perform on stage at the Arts Centre, which seats 1174. Four more young male dancers (Franco Lastra, Jacob Licastro, Kai Taylor and John Vallentine) were chosen for Swing on This at

Theatre Royal, Sydney Theatre Royal Sydney is a theatre in Sydney, Australia built in 1976 and has offered a broad range of entertainment since the 1990s. The theatre reopened in December 2021 under parent company Trafalgar Entertainment with patrons now able to book ...

. *

Prinnie Stevens The first season of ''The Voice'', the Australian reality talent show, premiered on 15 April 2012 and concluded on 18 June 2012, with Karise Eden being crowned as the winner. Coaches and hosts On 29 May 2011, it was reported in ''The Daily Tel ...

The former ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...

'' contestant and star of

Thriller - Live Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

(Australian tour) joined Swing on This for performances at

and

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

Long Weekend Festival in 2016. *

Bert La Bonté Bert La Bonté is an Australian actor. Early life La Bonté grew up in Melbourne's southeastern suburbs with his parents and two older sisters. His parents migrated from Mauritius in the late 1960s. He discovered a passion for acting at nine wh ...

joined the group for the Lord Mayor's Christmas Carols in Brisbane, QLD in 2022

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2014 Australian jazz ensembles 2014 establishments in Australia