Sandra will neither confirm or deny that she is, in fact, Willie Nelson’s love child

We’re chatting to Sandra Beynon, vocalist, ukuleleist and show publicist, about Willie Nelson’s Love Child Show. She performs as a vocalist with Missy Vader and the Dark Force, and Body and Soul Duo, with Sean Mullen, musical director.

Tell us about the show in 100 words or less

A tribute to Willie Nelson and other country greats. Sandra Beynon is Willie Nelson's ‘Love Child’ bringing to life the great man's most loved songs.
Sean and Sandra love Willie Nelson - both for his music, his song-writing, his dedication to performing well into his old-age, his cheeky love of fun, and his commitment to being on the road. In 2014 alone, Willie performed 150 one-night stands! In the last decade he has recorded 24 albums. What better artist to emulate than the world's most-loved octogenarian performer?

The Show pays tribute to his songs that stand the test of time, and infuse his material (and that of other country greats) with the pair's unique talents and personalities on stage.

Anywhere Festival takes place anywhere but a theatre. Tell us about your venue. What is it about your space that adds to your audience experience?

Spring Hill Reservoirs were Brisbane Town’s first water source, and are found under the shadow of the convict-built windmill on Wickham Terrace.  An interesting venue with lots of nooks and crannies and great natural acoustics.  Take a journey back in time and imagine what it was like building these two reservoirs in the early 1800s!

What is your creative process like?   

Pick a great song and create hand-crafted bass and drum tracks on an SR18 computer.   Practice, practice, enjoy, enjoy!

Tell us your origin story. How did your collaboration start?   

Driving down the Toowoomba Range when we decided to stop and buy a CD to play for the drive.  We chose the double-CD of Willie’s greatest hits.  Sandra realised she knew almost all of the songs and she declared that she was “Willie Nelson’s Love Child” and that we should do a show along those lines!  Our first tour was funded by Arts Queensland in 2015, to support drought-relief fundraising for Aussie Helpers, and take Willie on the road.

Who is your perfect audience member? Who is going to LOVE this event?   

Obviously, anyone who loves country music will lap it all up, but we find that audiences of all ages love the great, happy vibe we produce on stage.  Western Swing is an infectious sound created back in the USA for farmers to enjoy at the end of a hard labouring week, in the big hay sheds or in the honky-tonks.   It’s great story-telling songs and/or toe-tapping musicality which anyone with a musical appreciation can enjoy.  Baby-boomers and the Grey Nomads really love us, as we packed the hall at Birdsville back in 2015 with lots of appreciative applause.

Is there anything else we simply MUST know about the show?   

Sandra will neither confirm or deny that she is, in fact, Willie Nelson’s love child, born of a steamy night of passion in the back of the tour bus when it visited Brisbane back in the 70s…….  the plaits and bandanna are usually a dead give away though.

Willie Nelson’s Love Child Show takes place as part of Anywhere Festival on the 21, 22 and 23 May, 2021 at the Spring Hill Reservoirs.