Shot Notes
It is not every day you are asked to photograph the end of an empire. The Mojo stage finale on Day 1 at Bluesfest 2022 saw the final gig of Melbourne 6-piece, The Cat Empire. After 8 albums and 20 years of touring including 16 shows at 9 Bluesfests. Felix exploded onto the stage like a coiled spring. His energy was only matched by the audience who made a sound so loud it tickled my eardrums. This last hurrah has been planned since before the big pause so the anticipation was electric. They drew heavily on their debut album whose anthemic tracks had the crowd cheering for more. The dynamism of these musicians ensures the legacy of this cat empire will be many musical kittens.
UPDATE: Felix is relaunching the Cat Empire with a new lineup and are billed to return to the festival in 2023. Tickets from the Bluesfest website.
This image is available for download here.
I grew up listening to these guys.
Awesome, luv to see what they come up with next.
[…] female choir draws on musicians and stories from every corner of Australia. Melbourne-based Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill from The Cat Empire produce the music to tell stories of the Yindjibarndi people […]
[…] is Ollie McGill who, along with Felix Riebl are the remaining two-thirds of the founding trio of The Cat Empire. The band’s Wikipedia […]