HOMEGROWN songs, jokes, barbs and banter will give an Albury audience something to laugh about next week.
Wodonga entertainer Rodney Vincent will team up with Wagga singer-songwriter Grant Luhrs for the Australia Day Morning Show at The Commercial Club on Tuesday.
It is the first time the pair have collaborated on the show.
Vincent said he had done quite a few festivals and shows with Luhrs throughout the years but it was their first Australia Day show in Albury together.
He said they had a good rapport, playing off each other's strengths.
"We've already done one rehearsal, which is always the worst idea!" Vincent quipped.
"Really, we're creating something that is a bit different in these COVID times, where people are looking for something fresher from their entertainers."
Riverina-born-and-bred Luhrs has had several country music songs on the charts over the years.
His track Nude Bootscootin' stayed at #1 on the country music charts for weeks in 1997.
"I'll be doing a mixture of the serious and the silly in my set," he said.
"I'll do songs like Nude Bootscootin', which I wrote in the mid-90s with The Chook Raffle Band after playing at the Gympie Muster.
"Don't Call Wagga Wagga Wagga will be on the set list.
"You can't even think of calling Wagga Wagga, Wagga unless you're a local who has lived there about 40 years."
IN OTHER NEWS:
A part-time ABC Riverina presenter, Luhrs said 2020 had been tough for the arts and entertainment industries.
He said he looked forward to performing a live show.
"I've always celebrated Australia Day while also being sympathetic to our First Nations people," Luhrs said.
"I think it's a small but significant step that we've changed the words in the Australian national anthem."
Vincent has done feature shows at The Commercial Club for a decade.
In a COVID pivot, Vincent completed his training as a funeral celebrant last year.
"Our journey in life takes us places where we don't always expect to be," he said.
"But after so many years in the entertainment industry, I can gauge the mood in the room."
Show tickets are available online or at The Commercial Club.
THE LOWDOWN
WHAT: Australia Day Morning Show featuring Grant Luhrs and Rodney Vincent, The Commercial Club, Albury
WHEN: Tuesday, January 26, 10.30am-noon
