Sit Down With Sam

I couldn’t tell you when I heard my first Ben Lee song.

His music has been omnipresent in my life, and I feel like this is how most Australians experience Ben Lee.

‘Cigarettes Will Kill You’, ‘Catch My Disease’ and ‘We’re All In This Together’ were heard regularly on Rage, TV ads and in movies and shows; he was a part of growing up in Australia in the ‘90s and ‘00s.

He’s an icon who has been making waves internationally for decades, so I was elated when I got the chance to see him perform at Airlie Beach Festival of Music on the weekend.

I was even more elated when I got the phone call with the opportunity to head backstage and have a quick chat with him.

I was so excited and had plenty of questions ready to go: I wanted to know about his childhood band Noise Addict, what international stardom was like for him, how he met and started a band with ‘How I Met Your Mother’ actor Josh Radnor.

I got to ask him all this and more, and you can read my chat on page 23 of Whitsunday Life and online at mackayandwhitsundaylife.com.

It was one of my first “backstage media” type experiences and it was extremely cool to get that glimpse of the industry.

It was one of those moments where I thought, “How cool is my job?”

My Saturday at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music also included sets from Weathered, Allison Forbes, Ben Ransom, The Badloves and Salt & Steel, all of which were terrific.

It was headlined by an excellent set of rhythm and blues from British icons The Animals.

I sent some videos of The Animals to my dad, to which he replied, “Glad you enjoyed some 60's classics,” and I sure did.

‍