RocKwiz Live Gives Cairns Fans A Night To Remember

Cairns fans of the beloved musical quiz show RocKwiz were treated to a dazzling live adaptation of the AACTA Award-winning program over the weekend, hosted by the magnificent Cairns Performing Arts Centre.

Wrapping up the Cairns Summer Sounds festival with a bang, whose line-up included the likes of Ocean Alley and Vera Blue also gracing CPAC’s palatial main stage, RocKwiz Live was certainly no disappointment to hopeful ticket holders after the two-year postponement.

Kicking off the evening inside the towering windowed walls of the CPAC foyer, local singer-songwriter Eddie Skiba welcomes guests with his soulful strumming, accompanying the growing buzz of excitement in the air.

The stall doors burst open and out strides adored RocKwiz co-creator, Brian Nankervis, in a plume of his classic charisma, ushering audience members to gather around. The first interactive element of the night begins as Nankervis coaxes all keen muso nerds to step forward and test their rock knowledge for a chance to participate as an on-stage contestant during the show.

Nankervis zaps the crowd into action as the lights go up, parading around the stalls and swinging the microphone stand into the audience for fans to sing along. After rounds of rapid-fire trivia, interspersed by a series of Nankervis’ dance breaks and cut-throat witty cracks at the crowd, a final four contestants are narrowed down to return after the interval as the main spectacular commences.

Followed by an audience roar, the RocKwiz band and the show’s ever-exuberant host, Julia Zemiro, step into the spotlight with Nankervis assuming his spot at the scoring desk – ready to rock and roll. 

Renowned contemporary folk-ballad artist Shellie Morris – the first celebrity to make her musical appearance – launches the second act with a heart-warming rendition of her song Dharuk Gurtha.

“Since I saw you last, Shellie Morris, you have become a doctor. How did that happen?” asks Zemiro.

Morris, now the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, modestly replies, “I don’t know,” proceeded by an eruption of laughter from the audience.

Before heading into the next round, Zemiro spins her question of the night: “So, Dr Shellie, what was the first concert you ever went to?”

“There was a musical that changed my life. As a tiny little Aboriginal child in the big city with my beautiful family, we went to a big concert and it was…” Morris pauses before singing, “Jesus Christ… Superstar…” bolstered by a full crowd chant.

The next act to follow is Australian music legend and former Axiom member, Brian Cadd AM, performing a gritty belt of his classic Ginger Man.

Steering the ship with her sparkling vibrancy and astoundingly snappy punchlines, Zemiro charges the two teams onwards. Arriving at the karaoke challenge – a definite highlight of the night – one contestant brings the house down with The Angels’ immortal legacy Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, with the audience booming in full participation. 

“Thank you for your swearing,” he grins at the crowd as he heads back to his team’s desk.

The last guest to take to the stage is ARIA-nominated art-pop artist Olympia, mesmerising the crowd with her magnetising presence and a goosebump-inducing performance of her hit Smoke Signals.

As Olympia meets her team, Zemiro asks the pop powerhouse of the first concert that blew her mind.

“I think it was actually a movie. It was Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man and the soundtrack is by Neil Young and I think that’s what made me want to play piano.”

With the show later approaching its close, Brian Cadd and Olympia are welcomed back to centre stage for a duet of Axiom’s Little Ray Of Sunshine. While an unlikely duo, the seasoned songwriter and the shimmering pop-rocker deliver a delicately raw performance, flooding CPAC’s soaring ceilings with their radiant harmonies. 

For a cherry-topped encore, all three guests plus Zemiro and Nankervis round out the night with a pure punch of rock’n’roll, the crowd stomping along in their seats to none other than a Stones finale of Tumbling Dice. 

Looking around at all the smiling faces and dancing feet filing out of the theatre, one thing was perfectly clear – RocKwiz Live was undoubtedly worth the wait.