Managing a lengthy international tour typically puts pressure on the personal lives of a band. That’s why the Teskey Brothers of Australia, now touring in the U.S., have their family members and plus an eight-piece band of friends in tow for a nine-month run.
To keep family life as normal as possible, the group has traded their home base of Melbourne for temporary digs in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a “family affair on all fronts, which has been a lot of fun,” lead guitarist Sam Teskey said as their North American leg kicked off this month, following a European tour that started in March. It’s been a constant effort of “setting up camp and then flying out to gigs on the weekend.”
One of those weekend excursions includes an Aug. 31 concert at The Tabernacle concert hall in Atlanta, with singer Cecilia Castleman set to open. The tour will also take them to storied stops such as the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas.
Josh Teskey and Sam Teskey, the two siblings behind the band’s name, are in their mid-30s but began playing in their youth. They gradually moved from busking to playing top Melbourne venues to performing worldwide.
Despite spending their lives in Australia, the brothers draw on an array of classic American styles, from soul to blues to gospel to rock. Elder brother Josh has a commanding throwback voice that combines with Sam’s lead guitar work to define their signature sound.
“The Winding Way,” released in June on Glassnote Records, is the group’s third album and first since the departure of the original rhythm section. Recorded in Sydney, it soared to the top of the charts in Australia.
The first single is a cover of The Zombies’ uplifting “This Will Be Our Year” from cult classic album “Odessey and Oracle.” Deciding to record it was a no-brainer.
“It came about pretty easily, and that’s why we put it out first,” Sam said. “We fell in love with that tune. Eric (Dubowsky), our producer, had the idea. I haven’t heard too many covers of that particular song, so it felt like a good thing to do.”
One song the brothers are still prepping for a live debut is the standout “Blind Without You.” A musical hero of theirs, Harry Angus of Melbourne band The Cat Empire, did the brass arrangements for it.
“This was a moment for us. When Harry came up with the horn line over the chorus, it just completely changed the song,” Sam said.
Another album highlight is “Rich Man,” with plenty of brass plus an outstanding vocal performance from Josh. The song takes a circuitous sonic tour through a Stax Records box set of late 1960s music, drawing both from the label’s better-known soul sides (think Carla Thomas and Sam & Dave) and its less successful but still high-quality country, gospel and rock output. Such is the brothers’ genre-defying approach.
“Carry Me Home” is a song from “The Winding Way” that the duo played in stripped-down form for a Mahogany Session on YouTube on a snowy day in April in Zermatt, Switzerland.
“We couldn’t do too many takes,” Sam said. “It was so cold out there, so our fingers were getting really cold.”
Credit: IAN_LAIDLAW
Credit: IAN_LAIDLAW
Some of the material that Sam has written didn’t fit within the brothers’ joint musical world. So in 2021, he recorded and released solo album “Cycles” and toured Australia to support it. The record has a psychedelic edge, which is especially true of “Let the Sun Bring the Light,” with organ stabs, slide guitar and Pink Floyd-style vocals.
The guitarist expects to record another solitary effort at some point. “One day down the track, I’m sure there’ll come a time to continue ‘Cycles,’” Sam said. “It’s the birth of something that I’d like to keep going. But in the next few years, every time there’s a song that feels like it’s for that record, I’ll probably just tuck it aside for when I get the time to do that.”
With the two siblings now the only official band members, The Teskey Brothers are complemented onstage by eight musicians on guitar, bass, drums, horns and keyboard. But the players are no strangers to one another.
Fabian Hunter has known the brothers since elementary school, with Sam calling him a “great old friend and amazing guitar player and … amazing bass player.” Drummer Nick Lawrence first played with Sam in their teenage years in a group called The Shades. Sam dubs Olaf Scott the “boss organ player now, very hard to top. We’ve been playing together forever.” Hunter’s sister Lily Shaw plays saxophone, while her partner, Hector McLachlan, is on keyboard. Longtime collaborator Audrey Powne completes the full sound on trumpet.
Despite an intense tour schedule, The Teskey Brothers aren’t complaining.
“It’s been a lot of fun coming over here. The audience is a lot different to our audiences in Australia, the U.K. and Europe,” Sam said. “Americans — you like to holler, like to yell.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
The Teskey Brothers
8 p.m. Aug. 31. $45 and up. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. NW., Atlanta. 404-659-9022, livenation.com.
