INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed band Rogue Traders will be taking centre stage at the Swan Hill Food and Wine Festival this weekend.
Coming together in 2004, the pop rock group consists of keyboarder James Ash, lead vocalist Natalie Bassingthwaighte, guitarist Tim Henwood and drummer Cameron McGlinchey.
“We do love our wine and we do love our food, so I feel like it is a no-brainer – we get to perform, eat and drink,” Bassingthwaighte told The Guardian.
This will not be the first time the band has made the trip to Swan Hill, with Bassingthwaighte recalling the last time they visited the area the lake was completely dry.
“It is just so fun to go back to places like Swan Hill – I feel like our fan base really supports us in regional areas like that,” Bassingthwaighte said.
“We’ve done the rounds on numerous occasions, and there is just such an energy that you can’t replicate anywhere else.
“I feel like it is so fun, everyone is always up for a good time, everyone sings, everyone dances, and we join along in the fun.”
The Rogue Traders are set to play some of their hit songs such as Voodoo Child and One of My Kind, as well as their new single To The Disco, which Bassingthwaighte was particularly excited to perform in front of a crowd.
“I think that audience interaction, that live aspect (and) the exciting butterflies of (thinking) anything can go wrong – you’re standing on the edge of a cliff and you just dive off – there is nothing really quite like that,” Bassingthwaighte said.
“But also just having people sing back the lyrics to your songs after so many years is a real buzz.”
Having performed their new single a couple of weeks ago, Ash said it was “absolutely electric”.
“I find it incredibly addictive (performing live) and it is such a privilege to be able to share your music with people, and once you kind of get a sense of that, it is really hard for anything to match it really,” Ash said.
“It never gets old, ever.”
Rogue Traders perform on Saturday at the Pioneer Settlement. Entry to the festival is $45 per person.
