Review: 27 Club at The Rechabite

27 Club at The Rechabite
Thursday, January 22, 2026

27 is much too young to die. And it is tempting to wallow in sadness that members of the so-called ’27 Club’—Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse—didn’t each live a bit longer, to give them all time to make more great music.

But thankfully, 27 Club (by Release Creative) allowed us no time to grieve that loss. This event, on as part of Fringe World until February 15, is a rollicking, frolicking rock’n’roll tribute to these five musicians and the songs they did get to make before they joined the eponymous club. Hitting the stage, they dropped right into the classic opening riff of Smells Like Teen Spirit, and we were off on a fifty-year musical hit parade jammed into ninety glorious minutes.

With a massive graphic of Kurt’s profile behind them, the band was tight and strong and raced from Nirvana straight into a Hendrix song, with the backdrop changing to a pic of Jimi. Throughout the show the graphics matched the artist whose song was being played, sometimes with a quote from that artist, too. The performers interspersed little facts about the musicians and bits of contemporaneous history (like the Vietnam War) alongside some of their own autobiographical details and recollections in between belting out all the classics: Cry Baby, Break on Through, Lithium, All Apologies, Roadhouse Blues, Back to Black, Me & Bobby McGee, All Along the Watchtower, Breed, Light My Fire, Valerie and more. If you don’t already know what these songs are or who they’re by, you’re in for a treat, and if you know… well. You’re also in for a treat!

Dusty Lee Stephensen (The Wanderers) and his band were joined by Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus) and Carla Lippis, who all provided amazing vocals and stellar stage presence. Their vocals brought the ghosts of growly Kurt, laid-back Jimi, sexy Jim, serious Amy’s blues, and Janis’s croaky folk to the different songs without missing a beat—all while still retaining their own distinct sounds. Alas, one of the headline and original performers, Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah), has had to step out this season for personal reasons, but 27 Club has added one of Perth’s own, Chris Travaglini, on keyboard.

This show has hit the stage over a hundred times since debuting in 2013, at other festivals including Adelaide and Edinburgh, and is headed to NZ later this year. The performance was polished, as you’d expect, but still so fresh, electric, and exciting. Dusty claims this is down to the depth of their love and evident appreciation for the music as well as the quality of the songwriting.

Most of the arrangements stayed true to the originals, but a couple of tracks got a glow-up, notably Nirvana’s All Apologies, loosely based on the 1993 MTV live performance but perhaps with a little touch of Winehouse. Some songs got played outright from start to finish; others merged into the next or had chunks of other songs by the same artist blended in, without breaking stride or dropping a note.

There was a crowd singalong to Mercedes Benz about halfway through, and the night finished on an amazing medley mash-up with something from everyone while each artist’s likeness joined the previous until they were all together in an impossible concert lineup—Amy was not even born until over a decade after Jim, Jimi and Janis had died. But… what a gig that would be! So get along to this, the next best thing: a fantastic tribute to five legends, all gone far too soon, who left us such magic music. Enjoy.

EMMA SIMPER

27 Club hits The Rechabite Hall at The Rechabite from Wednesday, January 21 to Sunday, February 15, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au