*STOP PRESS…KINGS OF CONGO CONGO JUST CONFIRMED FOR FLAVOURS OF MUDGEE SAT 23 SEPT 2023*
“The Kings of Congo Congo will be drumming up a storm in the centre of town at the Flavours of Mudgee street festival this Saturday. The local drumming group combines high energy and high volume with precision and coordination to create a powerful sound and contagious rhythms.
The Kings have performed around the local region, from the Kandos Bob Marley Festival to the Gulgong Folk Festival. They drummed at last year’s Flavours of Mudgee, and drummer Mitchell Dover remembers the performance as a great day, with a large crowd gathering and getting into the Kings’ beats as night fell.
Many of the members are young students of Kings of Congo Congo founder Richard Lawson, and although they have only been drumming for a short time – in some cases only a year – the group has an energy and focus that mesmerises audiences. The drummers are committed to improving their skills and say while the discipline of a group performance is challenging, it’s fun to perform together.
Drummer Laidley Rouse compared drumming with the group to a team sport, and the Kings of Congo Congo have been training hard and are ready to play this weekend.
The Kings of Congo Congo will play three short sharp sets at Flavours of Mudgee, and audiences can expect to hear a variety of influences including Brazilian street marches and African rhythms. The drummers also improvise pieces they call their “randoms”.
Flavours of Mudgee will be held in Market Street from 4pm to 8pm on Saturday, September 23 2023.
The street will be closed and filled with stalls and performers, allowing locals and visitors to
enjoy dinner in the street and taste local wine, food and produce in a festival atmosphere.
Congo Congo drum up a beat at Flavours of Mudgee” Sam Paine Mudgee Guardian Sept 2014
Kings of Congo Congo is a Mudgee based percussion group led by Richard Lawson who for over 30 years has been at the forefront of Rock drumming in Australia first with legendary Aussie Punk group the Lime Spiders then as a music educator and successful solo artist/producer and composer.
The group is made up of his best students and drummer mates and regularly performs at outdoor festivals and workshops in the Central West of NSW and further afield.
They have made spectacular appearances at ‘The flavours of Mudgee’ in Sept 2012 and stole the show at the street party at the ‘Gulgong Folk Festival’ in Jan 2013. They have also had special guest artists and drummers appear and jam with them including guitar virtuoso Daniel Champagne, Southerly Change members Benjamin Fowler/Matt Sykes, Paul Greene and Funkhouse drummer Aaron Strickland and Beatmeisters famous Djembe master Damion Stirling…
Kings of Congo Congo also run workshops with a few of their drummers touring the Central West and entertaining, teaching and are set to make appearances at the Kangaroo Valley Music Festival in October 2018
Richard Lawson Music 