The Hindley Street Country Club (Music Monday)

The Algorithm sure got this one right!!!

There I was on Saturday night, doing the classic "one more video before bed" scroll through YouTube, when up pops this sweet cover of "Silly Love Songs" by a band called Hindley Street Country Club.

But here's the thing - this wasn't my first algorithmic encounter with these guys. A few weeks back, YouTube had served me up their take on "Grease" (which I clicked on because I'd been watching this killer vintage performance of Frankie Valli with the Commodores). The algorithm was working overtime to make this connection happen.

Hindley Street Country Club, it turns out, is this absolutely fantastic collective of musicians out of Adelaide, Australia. Now here’s what’s weird. Most people aren’t familiar with Adelaide. Sydney, sure….Melborune probably….maybe Brisbane, maybe Perth…but not often Adelaide. However, one of my best friends who I text with 50 times a day is from there.

Algorithm? The Simulation? iPhones scanning texts and sending the info to my Roku? The Universe telling me to leave the house??….BECAUSE…..

…this random band from Adelaide Australia is playing New York City this weekend! (Which is why this week’s Music Monday isn’t about McCartney III as planned - that will be next week.)

This is The Simulation right?

My friend tells me the name Hindley Street Country Club is extra amusing because apparently Hindley is the street with the drunks and hooligans, and the last place there would be a country club.

The HSCC have built up a large following by doing these meticulously crafted live-in-studio performances that somehow manage to feel both technically perfect and completely organic at the same time. These aren't your typical cover band versions - they dig deep into the arrangements, often bringing something fresh while still honoring what made the originals work.

Officially: Founded in 2017 by Arranger/Producer of all HSCC music, Constantine Delo, The Hindley Street Country Club (The HSCC) started as a group of Adelaide musicians, recording re-arranged covers and uploading them to Facebook and YouTube weekly. Fast forward to today, The HSCC has amassed over 750 Million YouTube views with over 1,000,000 subscribers globally and accumulated over a billion views across social media platforms.

They rotate through different vocalists and players depending on what the song needs, but the quality level stays remarkably consistent.

And then, because the universe apparently thinks I need more live music in my life, I discover they're playing in NYC this Saturday. When the algorithm starts making concert recommendations, who am I to argue? I mean, I'd already fallen down the YouTube rabbit hole with these folks - might as well see if they bring that same energy to the stage.

This is what I love about Media in the 2020s - you can go from "who are these people?" to "I need tickets" in the span of a YouTube session.

I'll let you know if I make it to the show. After all, that requires leaving the house and….shudder….commuting to NYC. In the meantime, excuse me while I go see what else the algorithm thinks I should be listening to...