Sydney weekend getaway a safe family friendly venue with food and entertainment
Sydney weekend getaway with food and entertainment, suitable for families, great open area for children and pets.
Travel information for a day trip outside Sydney
The Settlers arms hotel is also a great venue for a country style wedding reception or special out of town party
The sketches of Viva the band at the Settlers Arms Hotel were done by Brian Downs. Brian and his wife Orma turned up at the Settlers Arms a number of years ago, since then they have come to see us regularly at the Settlers arms, the Manly Jazz festival and Drummoyne Club, they are wonderful friends and supporters of the band.
Viva the band has been resident band at the historic Settlers Arms Inn St. Albans since 1996, performing on the first and third Sunday of each month between 12.30pm and 3.30pm. during the months March to October. The band stage is located on a small outbuilding on a large expanse of lawn at the rear of the Settlers Arms main building, very safe and great for children. The venue is great for pets. however dogs should be kept on a leash around picnic areas. There is bench type seating and tables seating for patrons to enjoy the wonderful and renowned food and entertainment. Many families also bring their own liners and relax amongst the shady trees dotting the landscape. Viva the band provide entertainment in an informal cabaret style performing a repertoire of: swing, jazz, latin, salsa, French, Spanish, Cuban songs and feature show tunes.
Location of Settlers Arms St Albans and how to get there from Sydney
The village of St. Albans is situated on the banks of the Macdonald river branching off the much larger Hawkesbury river about 100 kilometres north west of Sydney.
Drive from Sydney along the Old Northern road through Dural to Wisemans Ferry. At Wisemans Ferry turn left to catch the Web Creek ferry to cross the Hawkesbury River. St Albans is 20 Km further on and the road is currently being completed with a bitumen seal.
History of the Settlers Arms Inn
Considering the areas historical links with the early colony of New South Wales and the close proximity to Sydney, the village of St. Albans has been, until recently, relatively unknown. The valley has been for many years been referred to by the locals as the "Forgotten Valley" as it has been by-passed over time by all the major road and rail routes leading north from Sydney. The town of St Albans was officially gazetted in 1841, on land which had previously been a stockyard and wharf at the head of navigatable waters of the Macdonald River.
Description of the Settlers Arms Inn
The Settlers Arms Inn is an historic stone and timber hotel located in the St. Albans Valley surrounded by mountains. The inn was built by convict labour in 1836 and became a major overnight stop for the Cobb and Co coaches travelling from Sydney to Newcastle. The inn is classified by the national trust and is one of the oldest hotels in Australia.
Entertainment at the Settlers Arms Inn, St Albans
The romantic sounds of musette accordion/bass, Spanish guitar, flute, congas, percussion plus two vocalists harmonizing beautiful songs waft through the village of St. Albans valley drawing visitors and local residents to the Settlers Arms Inn.
The Settlers Arms Inn, the village and valley is a safe and readily accessible destination for a day trip, a weekend stay, a stop over on the way to or from the Hunter Valley and a great way to entertain your children. You can also take your pets. Viva the band offers just one more reason to plan a delightful stop over at this truly Australiana bush setting
Note Viva the band are not always appearing at the Settlers Arms, it is advisable to ring the Setters arms if you are interested in the catching a Viva show there, their phone number is 4568 2111.
Settlers Arms Inn St. Albans
More information about the Settlers arms can be found at this link: Settlers arms
Relax and enjoy a day out at Historic Settlers Arms with Viva the band (sketch)
Sydney's most popular jazz venue in an Oceanfront setting
The Manly International Jazz Festival is Australia's largest and longest-running community based jazz festival. Set amongst the beautiful Sydney harbour and oceanfront environments, Manly is considered to be the home of jazz in Australia.
The Manly Festival showcase mainstream, swing, traditional and jazz music. In keeping with the multicultural diversity of Sydney, Manly Council have engaged Viva the band who will be performing from a repertoire of swing, Jazz, French, Spanish, Italian, Cuban, Brazilian, Argentine and stunning show tunes
The festival will be include leading artists from overseas, intertstate and locally.
The line up of over 54 bands in 2006 include:
- New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra
- Jubilation Choir
- Dan Barnett Big Band
- Cuban Vibes
- Darryl Aberhart Octet
- The Ozcats band
- John Harkins Trio
- Delilah and band
- Finis Tasby band
- Jeff Duff
- Steve Clisby band
- Barry Leef
- Galapogas Duck
- Errol Buddle Quintet
- John Morrison's New Generation
- R.A.A.F. Jazz Ensemble
- Jan Preston Trio
- Geoff Atchison's Soul Diggers
- Sydney Zenith Band
- 3 Oceans band
- Wild Rice band
- Shirley Smith Soul Explosion
- Ian Cooper Quartet
- Doug Parkinson
- San Francisco Jazz Band
- Louisiana Shakers
- Foreday Riders
- Swingshift band
- Don Reid's Blue Rondo
- Di Bird and friends
- Susan Gai Dowling Quintet
- Jugalug Swing Band
- Wayne Kelly Quartet
- Nolan's Groove
- Cotton Club Band
- Salute to Freddy Hubbard
- Bennys Boys
- Funky Doo Das
- Catherine Hunter Quintet
- Tod Hardy Quintet
- Steve Brien's Organ Trio
- Straight Up
- Carrie Lakin Quintet
- Tenors For Two
- Adrian Cunningham Quartet
- Grover band
- Psycho Zydeco band
- Smokey Mary Jazz Band
- The Bogalusa Strutters
- New Orleans Wanders
- Down South Quartet
- VIVA the band
A band not to be missed at the festival is the ever popular Sydney based band, Viva the band (quartet), this is their 4th consecutive year at this festival and they will be presenting a repertoire of Swing, Jazz, Gypsy Jazz, Latin, Salsa, French, Spanish, Brazilian, Argentine, Italian, Hungarian, Russian and stunning show tunes.
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