There once was a band that played a Blues Brothers tribute show, but what happens when you outshine the ‘tribute’ mantle? Allow me to introduce you to The Soul Men.

A big band comprised of four instrumentalists in the rhythm section, three in the brass section and three dynamic vocalists, The Soul Men energise the stage with a mixture of dance, laughter and the kind of tunes that’ll make you mourn what music once was.

Though, like all great things, it had to start somewhere: jump back almost two decades and by chance you may encounter a young Greg Hill auditioning for the Universal Studios’ performance of The Blues Brothers.

Greg Hill rolled into the open audition at Universal Studios Japan in 2001, his motorcycle and slicked-back hair disguising his performing-arts background. However, his leather jacket and torn jeans couldn’t do much to hide his stellar voice. After jolting the judges to life and melting their expectations, Greg was no longer a James Dean-looking kid from Australia; he was Jake Blues.

Two years passed and Greg, failing to suppress his performing-arts passion, left Universal Studios filled with the inspiration to “assemble a big band to bring The Blues Brothers to life”. After a buzz on his phone and a question taken straight from the film: “Have you got the band back together?,” Jake and Elwood hit the stage to entertain a huge corporate crowd at The 5-Star Sofitel Grand Ballroom in Brisbane. The Blues Brothers had punters shaking their tail feathers, and though it was their debut gig, it was pretty clear these two were on a mission from God.

The brothers quickly earned notches on their belts as they performed for countless charity events and festivals, such as: Kids With Cancer, Flood Relief, and Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest. With every gig the band acquired more members, until they reached the full quotient of ten musicians to present the Blues Brothers as faithfully as possible.

With Malcom ‘The Major’ Bell leading the band on drums, his son Damian ‘The Minor’ Bell on bass guitar, Andrew ‘The Kid’ Fincher smashing the keys like no other and Travis ‘T.J’ Earsman shredding on lead guitar, this rhythm section has its mojo going on. Add to that the talented Brad ‘The Mad Dog’ Scriven on Sax, Dan ‘The Code Breaker’ Brown on trumpet and Andy ‘The Bones’ Troy on trombone, this horn section is really taking care of business.

Playing Elwood to Greg’s Jake is renowned singer and harmonica wizard Brent Moetara, and playing the role of vocal powerhouse Mrs Murphy is the incomparable Asabi Goodman.

With the band back together, the choreography spirited and the jokes loaded the only thing the band needed was a pair of wheels. In true Blues Brothers fashion Greg acquired a ’77 Fairlane fully-loaded with a Cleveland 351 and transformed it into the Blues Mobile. Greg stayed so true to the beast that he hid the stereo inside the glove box, just so they could keep it ‘original’ whilst blasting the tunes when cruising.

The Soul Men aren’t just a tribute act; they’re a time-machine to an era where dropping the bass actually meant dropping your bass guitar. You won’t find an act like this anywhere so shake a tail feather and go catch them live.

For bookings or more information call Greg on 0424 002 747.