Think R&B, soul and just little rock & roll. That's the sound Nathaniel Rateliff hopes “people get excited and want to come back for more” when his band, The Night Sweats, play the east coast this month.
The eight-piece soul band based in Denver will be touring their 2018 album 'Tearing At The Seams'.
The leader of this groovy bunch, Nathaniel (with a husky, '60s style voice) is in New Zealand – their final tour location before flying to Australia ahead of their first show in Sydney on Saturday.
But this isn't Nathaniel's first time touring Australia. “I think this is my third time to Australia. I haven't spent tonnes of time there, maybe a month overall. But I love it,” he says.
While he has only been to Australia a few times, he does have a soft spot for Byron Bay. “Byron Bay is so beautiful. “It was the first place; we flew into Brisbane and headed straight for that coast. It's beautiful country.”
The lads will return to that “beautiful country” when they perform two shows at the 30th annual Bluesfest – after a run of shows in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
As a touring musician, Nathaniel likes “to take advantage of any free time I have to see the city we are in.
“I know it's kind of lame but I like to see the history, like to get familiar with the culture of places like that.
“I try to do as much of that as possible and I also love swimming, so I try to get into the water as much as I can,” Nathaniel explains.
The Night Sweats evolved from musicians that Nathaniel knew and had been playing with for years.
Which brings us to question; what was the inspiration behind the name? “I thought 'The Night Shades' was a good name, but it turns out there was a band already called The Night Shades,” Nathaniel explains.
“Then, just jokingly, [I] called it The Night Sweats from sweating in your sleep or drinking too much; it was kind of a joke and it just stuck.”
Not only is the whole band “super tight” because they are all old friends, the whole team is close; even the crew. “There are 16 of us out on the road. it's like a big family and we like to have big dinners and act like goofballs wherever we are at.
“We have a really good time together. I am really blessed to build and spend my life with these weirdos.”
With a couple of sold-out shows already on their itinerary, Nathaniel is amped to play new material to fans in Australia. “I'm just excited to be back. We are really proud of this second record, it's our first time playing it in Australia.
“We have worked really hard to come up with a great live show and we are excited to share that with fans and the audience.”
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 2019 Tour Dates
Sat 13 Apr - Metro Theatre (Sydney) - sold outSun 14 Apr - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Mon 15 Apr - The Gov (Adelaide)
Wed 17 Apr - The Croxton (Melbourne)
Thu 18 Apr - The Croxton (Melbourne) - sold out
Fri 19 Apr - Boogie Festival (Tallarook, VIC)
21-22 Apr - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
