Close to Forever, the creative love child of Dale Caldwell and Ben Fink, are a purposefully curated collective of some of Australia’s most acclaimed and talented musicians.

Their sound has been described as a searing and haunting listening experience, a mix of rich vocal harmony with luscious arrangements featuring elements of artpop, jazz, alt-folk and improvisation.

Playing original works and interpreted material by master song crafters such as PJ Harvey, Elvis Costello and Nina Simone they’ve created a distinctive sound centred on close vocal harmony, hypnotic rhythm and ethereal sonic landscapes, increasingly involving improvisation by these master players.

This gig will feature the band in quintet mode:

Dale Caldwell- vocals,
Ben Fink – guitar and vocals
Chris Abrahams - piano.
Sam Golding - horns
Peter Hollo – cello

Special guest for this gig is the wildly talented Sydney based performance poet Tug Dumbly.

Tug Dumbly, who also masquerades as Geoff Forrester, is a Sydney poet who has performed for millennia at venues, festivals and schools.

He has been resident-poet on ABC radio (Triple-J, ABC 702), and has released two spoken-word CDs through the ABC.

His awards include the Banjo Paterson Prize for Comic Verse (twice), and Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup (thrice).

In 2024 he won the Reciter of the Year award at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. His poems have appeared in many publications and he has often been cruelly cheated out of big awards after being shortlisted for many prizes. In 2020 he won the Borranga Poetry Prize, in 2022 he won the Woorilla Poetry Prize, and in 2023 he won the Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize.

He has released two poetry books through Flying Islands books, Son Songs(2018), and Tadpoems (2024).

He is a comic and satirist who wants to be taken seriously, and also a singer-songwriter who plans to be famous in the grave.

$38 + booking fee pre, $45 door

7pm doors, 8pm show

We can only reserve tables for GROUPS OF 8 OR MORE (you can go as large as you like! We never run out of tables for large groups who get our email confirmation once you email a request.

TO RESERVE A TABLE OF 8 OR MORE. . .Firstly buy all your tickets, then email: camelot3@tpg.com.au Please list *show name *show date and only the *name the tickets are booked under.

LESS THAN 8 people??? All other seating is on a 'first in best dressed' basis! So come early and choose a seat, a stool or table which suits. If the show is sold-out, you may end up sharing with others or choose to stand.

Please book carefully – as no refunds, credits or exchanges on tickets are possible.

All ages are welcome (but under 18′s must be accompanied by an adult) and a ticket must be purchased to support the artists playing.

Delicious food (including pizza!) is available.

Fully licensed – NO BYO