Perth’s Matt Cahill Combo deliver genre-bending new album The Midnight Show

Acclaimed jazz, swing, and rockabilly vocalist/guitarist/bandleader Matt Cahill has released his long-awaited new album, The Midnight Show—a lively, heartfelt, and deeply personal collection of original songs that blends a love of vintage styles with a head for the now.

The Matt Cahill Combo are set to appear at Scarborough’s Jazz Connect Festival on Saturday, August 30, and Dunsborough’s Boogie Down South Festival on Saturday, September 27, before bringing The Midnight Show’s album party to Mustang Bar on Friday, November 7.

Cahill cut his teeth on stages around Australia back in the early/mid-’90s as vocalist/guitarist for Perth rock ‘n’ roll quartet The Calhoons. In the years since, Cahill built on his garage/power pop roots to become a passionate scholar of 1940s swing, early jazz, and rockin’ rhythm ’n’ blues.

Cahill performed for a decade locally and in the US with Rusty & The Drag Strip Trio, while also taking extended stints away from the stage to immerse himself in all the avenues of Americana, studying the great guitarists of the genre, including Oscar Moore of the Nat King Cole Trio, Freddie Green from Count Basie’s Orchestra, and Benny Goodman alumni Charlie Christian and Allan Reuss. He also went on to perform with local jazz musicians in Spain, France, and Germany, seeing him craft a blend of jazz, swing, and rockin’ rhythm that is all his own.

Known for his work interpreting the American Songbook, Cahill turns his songwriting talents towards something more personal on The Midnight Show, giving the record a unique sense of place. “We often get caught up in Americana,” Cahill said. “But I had this moment writing a song about Louisville and thought—why not Leederville?”

That decision grounds the album in the lived experience of Perth’s vibrant music scene. “There’s a great little record shop in Leederville,” Cahill adds, “and the lyrics just spawned from that.” Songs such as the aforementioned Leederville and Jumpin’ At The Astor namecheck local landmarks while evoking the sound of New Orleans jazz, complete with emotive brass lines and walking bass.

Cahill’s reverence for jazz tradition is also clear in the use of contrafacts—new melodies written over familiar jazz chord progressions. Jumpin’ At The Astor and Cookie playfully reimagine classic jazz frameworks such as Duke Ellington’s Perdido while introducing fresh hooks and irresistible grooves.

The album also explores more sentimental ground. The seemingly breezy Sending All My Love has a deeper emotional core, inspired by the passing of an eccentric uncle. “He had this shed full of a menagerie of weird and wonderful stuff,” Cahill recalls. “It’s a little about his story—his goodbye to the family. I think everyone has a relative like that.”

Produced by Lee Buddle at Crank Studio and featuring some of Perth’s best jazz and swing musicians—Lachlan Glover (tenor sax/trumpet), Alex Parkinson (trombone), Bronton Ainsworth (drums), Kieran Barnes and Richard Timms (upright bass), and Adrian Hicks (trumpet)—The Midnight Show is a suite that encapsulates Cahill’s determined curiosity and his love for all the tributaries of Americana and roots music.

Matt Cahill Combo’s The Midnight Show is out now on all streaming services and available to buy on vinyl. Matt Cahill Combo play Jazz Connect Festival on Saturday, August 30; Boogie Down South Festival on Saturday, September 27; and Mustang Bar on Friday, November 7, 2025. For more info, head to mattcahillcombo.com.au