THERE may be no television cameras or studio lights, but that won’t stop music trivia brains from being the stars of the show.
Hosts Brian Nankervis and Julia Zemiro have packed the questions as they head to Swan Hill on Saturday night for their popular RocKwiz Live show at the Riverside Park sound shell.
The television music trivia quiz show is focused on rock music and features different guest artist musicians who perform live in each episode.
It was broadcast on SBS from 2005 until 2016 before Foxtel gained the rights this year.
Nankervis told The Guardian there was a sense of excitement because there weren’t the same opportunities in regional cities as the big cities.
“You can go out any night in Melbourne and see 10 or 15 bands, so if I was living in a regional area I’d get pretty excited if a big travelling circus came to town,” he said.
“There is also … in line with a country sense of responsibility of the friendliness, the excitement – there is genuine desire to have a good time.”
This will be Nankervis’ first time in Swan Hill, but the Murray region is no stranger to the presenter and comedian, having hosted the Riverboats Music Festival in Echuca for the past eight years.
“Sometimes audiences in the city can be a little blase,” he said.
“There is a degree of being accustomed to having lots of music on their doorstep so they’re naturally not as excited or appreciative as those that don’t get as much of it.”
Nankervis said in “true RocKwiz fashion”, he couldn’t reveal the special guests for the event.
“We have the ‘who can it be now?’ aspect where Julia reveals a couple of clues,” he said.
“The contestants have to guess, so it’s roughly the same structure as that of the television show.
“We introduce the band and have the contestants selected from the audience, where I will be spruiking looking for potential rock brains.
“We invite 18 of them up on the stage and run three rounds of questions, with the best four going through the the show.
“It’s lots of music, lots of quizzing and singalong.
“Often people are left stunned because their loved ones say how good they are with rock music trivia, but when they are put under the lights, they crumble.”
Nankervis could remember back to 2005 when the show was invited to Moomba.
“I remember feeling nervous, just because we were familiar in doing the show but we had no idea how it could work with no control and on an open-air stage,” he said.
Pack your favourite deck chair, blanket or even a bean bag and settle back to enjoy a fantastic night of music, fun and laughter. Bring a picnic hamper and snacks to share.
Bendigo-based musician Grim Fawkner will start the night’s entertainment with his upbeat roots/country/blues originals from 7pm to 7.30pm.
Gates open at 5.30pm, with RocKwiz Live beginning at 8pm.
Tickets are available at swanhilltownhall.com/events/rockwiz
