While Bluesfest has been cancelled for the year, there are still a few bands touring around Australia keeping the spirit of Bluesfest alive. One of them is The Wailers who rose to prominence touring with Bob Marley. Although clearly none of the original members remain in the group, the band still perform a very faithful reggae set delighting fans all over the world. For this concert, the group played to an absolutely packed Metro Theatre before the Easter weekend and the energy in the room was buzzing as they took to the stage.

Led by singer Mitchell Brunings, who rose to prominence singing “Redemption Song” on the Dutch version of The Voice and drummer Aston Barrett Jr, the band played all of the classic Bob Marley hits much to the delight of the audience. Having the crowd up on their feet from the moment they began with “Lively Up Yourself” and “Is This Love”, which had the whole audience singing along, Brunings had a great charisma as they performed, drawing the audience into their world. With a varied setlist and top class musicianship and vocals, the audience was clearly very impressed by the high level of skill on display, the band absolutely nailing every song and delivering it with precision.

Another favourite of the crowd was “I Shot the Sheriff”, before “No Woman, No Cry” had the whole crowd up dancing and singing along which was a wonderful moment. The set was relatively short, but it was high octane and the energy was high throughout. The band closed out their main set with “Get Up, Stand Up”, with the crowd screaming for more as they delivered a powerful and poignant message. 

“Our music comes from a place of love, a place of unity, it brings peace. We need it now more than ever,” said Brunings. 

The group performed a long encore, starting with a beautiful rendition of “Redemption Song”, which showed off Brunings’ excellent voice, before closing out with “Buffalo Soldier” and an extended rendition of “Could You Be Loved”, which had everyone in the crowd up and dancing and celebrating what was a wonderful night of reggae music.

Overall, this was a great concert, which brought some much-needed joy to Sydney before the Easter weekend. Everyone in the room was feeling the good vibes from the concert and were treated to a fantastic display of high class musicianship. If perhaps a reminder of what the country has lost with Bluesfest, this was at least a positive way to cheer everyone up and give everyone some happiness heading into the Easter weekend.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

The Wailers – Metro Theatre – 2 April 2026