Music

The man behind Jazz, Blues and Gypsy in the Mountains, promoter Chris Cannell quietly lets his next venture slip over coffee, and you won't believe where it is...

Music in the Mountains is the brand behind 'Lounge Sessions at Hotel Blue' in Katoomba, and more recently a partnership with Music Hunter to bring guitar legend Lulo Reinhardt to Wentworth Falls. This is run single-handedly by the enthusiastic ex-hotel manager and tourism curator Chris Cannell.

Since the changing of the guard at Hotel Blue, Chris has been devoted to continuing the Friday and Saturday evenings of music, and has also been proactive in eyeing off new venues to bring live music events.

Chris walks into Cortado for a latte and a quiet chat with us, shaking off a late night helping with the sold-out All Our Exes gig at the Metropole, then casually lets it out: his next project is based at The Hydro Majestic. Boom. Did not expect that, I had been predicting somewhere more low key and definitely in Katoomba. But Chris is always thinking big – and he knows his venues and bands, and there's no doubt he will be the man to pull something like this off.

"I've been in conversation with the owners for around 8 months," he reveals. "After our initial conversation they didn't come back to me, but after chasing them up over a period of time we've finally worked out the details."

"I'm all about branding, so we're calling this Live at the Boiler House, the space is better suited than the grand ballroom for live music," says Chris.

The Hydro spent some time bringing live music events to the Mountains in 2015 and included big names like Diesel and James Morrison, but seemed to have issues filling the seats over time for some of the events.

Live at the Boiler House will play out as a monthly signature series bringing local and international jazz and gypsy to the most prestigious location on the Mountain. Chris has already shown his success in booking Hotel Blue 'Lounge Sessions' for the last 3 years and even flipped his laptop to reveal a methodical approach to booking and promoting acts, utilising the latest software and apps to ensure artists are booked & paid on time, also freeing up his days to spend doing what he enjoys - swing dancing or lounging in Lawson coffee shops listening to The Vampires.

Fling your eyeballs over to Music in the Mountains for more info soon...