When you hear about musicians going back to their roots, for musical duo (and cousins) The Howling Roy Boys, their roots are firmly planted in Cobar.
Lachie Howell and Will Howell are fourth generation musicians with their great, grandfather Keith Mitchell, the keyboardist for The Tymekeepers, a legendary dance band which formed in Cobar in the mid 1960s.
Will’s dad Jason Howell and their Uncle Brad Howell also had their own highly popular local band, Typhoon, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“We have a long and deep connection to both Cobar and music.
“We grew up with music in our veins,” Lachie told The Cobar Weekly.
“Our family has lived in Cobar and the nearby heritage mining settlement of Mt Drysdale (Will can put his Fisher family heritage here too) for over 200 years.
“Growing up in Collaroy [hence where the duo’s name comes from], we routinely return to Cobar to visit family, friends and go out bush,” Lachie said.
The pair are teaming up to provide entertainment at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club for next week’s State of Origin Game 3 decider.
While Will is no stranger to the Cobar stage having played a number of gigs in Cobar with his band Edgecliff, it’s the first time the cousins have teamed up to play a gig together outside of family gatherings.
It’s their family roots that have influenced their music with the boys playing a mix of music their great grandfather would have played and their father and uncle did, including classic rock, rock n roll, rhythm and blues – Neil Diamond, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Beatles, Chuck Berry and more.
“We’re jonesin’ to put on a show to raise the curtain for the NRL State of Origin Game 3,” Lachie said.
