Before getting into reading  this review, pause and go buy tickets to Twenty Sixteen. This show is exceptional. From the producers behind 27 Club (born here in Adelaide and now taking Australia by storm) this brand new show is electric. 

This seventy minute celebration of music features numbers from Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Leonard Cohen and more. All these artists share something in common: the year 2016. In 2016, these artists, and several notable personalities, all passed away. Their music changed the music industry and they each have left a lasting impression. 

Amplified House should be extraordinarily proud of this new work. It’s loud, it rocks, it is full of joy and you leave The Fantail with a huge smile on your face. Adelaide cabaret queen, Amelia Ryan, has written a great script that weaves brief bits of information about the music and the artists, but never pulls us away from what we are there for — the music. Ryan’s work, alongside the careful direction of Zac Tyler, is a winning formula.

Leading Twenty Sixteen is the sensational Kylie Auldist (from The Bamboos), Dusty Lee Stephensen (27 Club) and Jaron Jay. The vocal blend of these three is incredible. Auldist’s soulful voice fills The Fantail and is perfectly suited to numbers such as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Jaron Jay brings the rock and cool vibes to numbers by artists like Prince and guitar playing to match. The smooth voice of Dusty Lee Stephensen rounds out the lead trio. Stephensen is a true showman. He knows how to pull an audience in through his storytelling ability and connection with the lyric.

Supporting Twenty Sixteen is one incredibly tight, sizzling hot band. Nic Jeffries not only takes lead vocals on some numbers, but his saxophone playing is insane. Especially with “that” riff from George Michael’s Careless Whisper’. Ben Todd (drums), Jack Strempel (keys) and Flik Freeman (bass) are a tight rhythm section, laying down a solid foundation. Todd’s arrangements for Twenty Sixteen are fresh and quickly have the audience jumping up to dance. Harrison Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn round out the band with some incredible solo moments. 

By the final number, George Michael’s 1990 hit Freedom! ’90, the entire Fantail was on their feet bopping, dancing and singing along. The music is infectious.

The music of Prince, Sharon Jones, Maurice White, David Bowie, Leon Russell, George Michael, Paul Kantner, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Fray and Rick Parfitt has left a lasting impression on so many people’s lives. 2016 took them from us, but Twenty Sixteen is an incredible homage to their lasting legacy.