Live at the Village

16/08/2026

🎸 Guitar music, reimagined.

Shimmering harmonies. Fluid improvisation. Rhythms that shift from meditative to fiery. Jazz, world, and contemporary textures woven into one electrifying conversation of strings.

Guy Strazz's global lyricism. Ben Hauptmann's fluid virtuosity. Aaron Flower's fearless improv. Jess Green's bold rhythmic invention.

THE FRET BENDERS — fiery, intimate, and unmistakably Australian.
📅 Sat 17 Oct | Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall
🎟️ $40/$35 → liveatthevillage.com.au

15/08/2026

04/08/2026

/ INTERNATIONAL JAZZ COMES TO THE MOUNTAINS /
We're beyond excited to welcome Dutch-Spanish saxophonist BERNARD VAN ROSSUM to Springwood for one night only!

Straight off stages like North Sea Jazz Festival, Cape Town Jazz Festival and the Flamenco Biennale, Bernard brings his genre-bending mix of jazz, orchestral flair and flamenco fire to Springwood, backed by an all-star Sydney lineup:

THE LINE-UP
Harry Sutherland — piano
Nick Jansen — double bass
Abby Constable — drums

📅 Saturday 15 August 2026 🕗 Doors 7:30 pm | Music 8:00 pm 📍 Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall 🎟️ $40 general / $35 concession

An intimate room and a world-class player - head to our website to book now: https://liveatthevillage.com.au/

07/06/2026

SATURDAY 13 JUNE
Step into a world where Australia's forgotten cinematic past roars back to life.

Puffs of Smoke is a live musical experience unlike anything you've seen before in the Blue Mountains — a program of rare silent films from before 1920, accompanied by stunning original music composed and performed live on saxophone by the extraordinary Phillip Johnston.

Dramatic bushranger melodramas, wartime cartoons, newsreel footage, and fragments of the very films that launched an industry — including The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) and Soldiers of the Cross (1900) — flicker on screen while Johnston conjures a mesmerising soundscape of improvised saxophone, looping samples, and overdubbed arrangements for up to 16 saxophones. Woven between the films, short narratives stitch it all together into a vivid fantasia — part concert, part history lesson, part cinematic séance.

This is new music meeting old ghosts. Jazz, silent film, and forgotten history collide in one singular night.

PHILLIP JOHNSTON 'PUFFS OF SMOKE' (Live Silent Film Score): LIVE AT THE VILLAGE [2026 CONCERT SERIES] // Saturday, 13 June 2026 // Doors 7:30 pm; Show 8:00 pm // Location: Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall. 160 Macquarie Rd, Springwood NSW. // Individual Tickets: $40/35

Head to liveatthevillage.com.au for tickets and more info.

06/06/2026

Coming up in one wk folks! This will be a unique and memorable night of music and historic Australian film. Tickets are moving so don’t miss out !

https://events.humanitix.com/puffsofsmoke

21/05/2026

This years Live at the Village series is serving up wonder and musical joy! Our first concert with Shakti Spirit was a memorable and deeply inspiring night! Now for something completely different, a night of early Australian film accompanied by our own resident iconoclast, Phillip Johnston! DONT MISS THIS!

Step into a world where Australia's forgotten cinematic past roars back to life.

Puffs of Smoke is a live musical experience unlike anything you've seen before in the Blue Mountains — a program of rare silent films from before 1920, accompanied by stunning original music composed and performed live on saxophone by the extraordinary Phillip Johnston.

Dramatic bushranger melodramas, wartime cartoons, newsreel footage, and fragments of the very films that launched an industry — including The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) and Soldiers of the Cross (1900) — flicker on screen while Johnston conjures a mesmerising soundscape of improvised saxophone, looping samples, and overdubbed arrangements for up to 16 saxophones. Woven between the films, short narratives stitch it all together into a vivid fantasia — part concert, part history lesson, part cinematic séance.

This is new music meeting old ghosts. Jazz, silent film, and forgotten history collide in one singular night.

PHILLIP JOHNSTON 'PUFFS OF SMOKE' (Live Silent Film Score): LIVE AT THE VILLAGE [2026 CONCERT SERIES] // Saturday, 13 June 2026 // Doors 7:30 pm; Show 8:00 pm // Location: Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall. 160 Macquarie Rd, Springwood NSW. // Individual Tickets: $40/35

Head to liveatthevillage.com.au for tickets and more info.

21/05/2026

Step into a world where Australia's forgotten cinematic past roars back to life.

Puffs of Smoke is a live musical experience unlike anything you've seen before in the Blue Mountains — a program of rare silent films from before 1920, accompanied by stunning original music composed and performed live on saxophone by the extraordinary Phillip Johnston.

Dramatic bushranger melodramas, wartime cartoons, newsreel footage, and fragments of the very films that launched an industry — including The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) and Soldiers of the Cross (1900) — flicker on screen while Johnston conjures a mesmerising soundscape of improvised saxophone, looping samples, and overdubbed arrangements for up to 16 saxophones. Woven between the films, short narratives stitch it all together into a vivid fantasia — part concert, part history lesson, part cinematic séance.

This is new music meeting old ghosts. Jazz, silent film, and forgotten history collide in one singular night.

PHILLIP JOHNSTON 'PUFFS OF SMOKE' (Live Silent Film Score): LIVE AT THE VILLAGE [2026 CONCERT SERIES] // Saturday, 13 June 2026 // Doors 7:30 pm; Show 8:00 pm // Location: Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall. 160 Macquarie Rd, Springwood NSW. // Individual Tickets: $40/35

Head to liveatthevillage.com.au for tickets and more info.

30/04/2026

One more sleep! Come to this concert & make an Investment in something beautiful!

https://events.humanitix.com/shaktispirit

24/04/2026

LIVE AT THE VILLAGE 2 MAY 2026
Shakti Spirit doesn't just blend cultures — it ignites them. This acclaimed Indian jazz ensemble brings their spellbinding fusion of Indian classical vocals, South Indian percussion, and searing guitar–saxophone interplay to the Blue Mountains for the very first time.

Celebrating female creativity through the pure joy of improvisation, their music draws on original works by Nadhamuni, Gayatri Bharat, and Sandy Evans, as well as the timeless poetry of mystic saints. Expect something deeply felt, wildly alive, and utterly unlike anything else.

SHAKTI SPIRIT feat. SANDY EVANS, NADHAMUNI GAYATRI BHARAT, JESS GREEN & PIRASHANNA THEVARAJAH: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE [2026 CONCERT SERIES] // Saturday, 2 May 2026 // Doors 7:30 pm; Show 8:00 pm // Location: Springwood Presbyterian Church Hall. 160 Macquarie Rd, Springwood NSW. // Individual Tickets: $40/35 or Season Pass: $120

For tickets, season passes & more info: https://liveatthevillage.com.au

"The band’s intricate interplay of instruments captured the depths of human emotion, evoking images of women overcoming pain and emerging as strong, fierce individuals."
- INDIANLINK

Please note: Only 4 of the 5 musicians pictured will be appearing for this performance.

20/04/2026

🎶 The 2026 Live at The Village Concert Series has arrived 🎶
Four unforgettable nights. Four extraordinary line-ups. One intimate Blue Mountains stage.

From the hypnotic pulse of Indian jazz fusion to the flicker and crackle of silent-film séances, from the worldly brilliance of Dutch-Spanish saxophone mastery to the fiery, electrified conversations of four of Australia's finest guitarists — this is a season that refuses to sit still, leaping between cultures, eras and traditions with fearless curiosity.

/ Sat 2 May – Shakti Spirit /
Sandy Evans, Nadhamuni, Gayatri Bharat, Jess Green & Pirashanna Thevarajah ignite the stage with spellbinding Indian jazz fusion. Making their Blue Mountains debut.

/ Sat 13 June – Phillip Johnston: Puffs of Smoke /
Rare pre-1920 silent films meet live, looping saxophone — part concert, part cinematic séance. New music meets old ghosts.

/ Sat 15 August – Bernard van Rossum & Sydney's Finest /
The internationally acclaimed Dutch-Spanish saxophonist joins the cream of Sydney's jazz scene for one rare, intimate night.

/ Sat 17 October – The Fret Benders /
Guy Strazz, Ben Hauptmann, Aaron Flower & Jess Green reimagine guitar music — fiery, lyrical, unmistakably Australian.

All shows: Doors 7:30 PM | Showtime 8:00 PM

🎟️ Want the whole season? Grab a Season Pass for just $120 — four concerts for the price of three. Add it at checkout when you book any show.

Full program & tickets 👉 liveatthevillage.com.au