City Recital Hall is one of the best venues in Sydney for live music and so it’s no surprise that it is the venue of choice for many of the artists coming down to Australia for Bluesfest this week for their Sydney side shows. Kicking off the festivities for CRH’s “Switched On” series was Mark Broussard, a Louisiana native, who has made a name for himself with his unique blend of Southern soul, funk, rock and blues. 

Before Broussard took to the stage, the audience was treated to an opening performance from Karen Lee Andrews, who charmed the audience with a soulful rendition of “To Love Somebody” in amongst her original music. When Broussard entered the venue, the audience, which was not quite full but vocal nonetheless, showed their passion and appreciation for the performer, who was touring Australia for the first time. 

Broussard commenced his set with “Lonely Night in Georgia” and immediately showed off his soulful, smoky blues vocals, with his rich tone being particularly conducive to the venue’s fabulous acoustics. The Louisianian performed a good mix of covers and original work, with his cover of Frankie Miller’s “Baton Rouge” being delivered passionately, with his band doing a fantastic job of keeping the pace, energy and flair of the music. 

As Broussard moved through his set, he played some more ballad style songs, which showed off the versatility of his voice and the variety of his influences, with “The Beauty of Who You Are” being a particular highlight, as the singer moved effortlessly between a lyrical tone and smoky belting in his upper register. 

While Broussard showed off fantastic vocals throughout the 80-minute set, at times, there was a feeling that some versatility in the pacing of the night would have been welcome with the rawness of the vocals sometimes having to overcome musical similarities. Additionally, Broussard did not interact with the audience very much, which drew further attention to the pacing and meant that the energy was perhaps not as strong as it could have been at points during the night.

With that said, Broussard’s band was especially strong, with his piano player, Aussie Clayton Doley, who had only played one show with Broussard prior to this being a standout, and showing off his virtuosity and technical brilliance in all of his many piano solos throughout the night. 

Broussard closed the main set with his biggest hit “Home”, which was well-received by the crowd as the singer belted out the iconic high notes in the chorus with the backing of those in attendance. Returning for the encore, Broussard implored the crowd to get dancing as he took on his well-known cover of “Cry to Me”. This was the perfect showcase of the versatility in his voice and had the crowd grooving to the beat of the music as Broussard capped off a wonderful night of music. 

Ultimately, this was a fantastic night of music, with Broussard showcasing the blues genre at a level that Sydney does not often get to experience. While some versatility and more engagement in the set would have perhaps been welcome, the opportunity to hear a blues performer at the top of their game, supported by a wonderful band and the sublime acoustics of City Recital Hall was more than enough to make sure that the crowd left very happy. One can only hope that the rest of the Bluesfest sideshows live up to the lofty standards set by Broussard as he heads to Byron for the weekend’s festivities. 

 Rating: ★★★★

Marc Broussard – City Recital Hall – 16^th April 2025