Saturday, 1-6pm and 9pm - midnight

The Patch

Tickets: Music Farmers, Lovedoll Superstar, Haworth Guitars and The Patch

Wollongong's stoner rock legends Tumbleweed will perform twice at the Patch on Saturday.

They are headlining an all-ages show in the afternoon then backing up for an over-18s show that night.

Also on the bill for first show are Thomas Covenant, The Vanns and Abstract Classic, while Bruce! and Dropping Honey are support acts for the later show. In between Mother & Son and Kaleidoscope will play in the front bar, making it an all-day mini-festival of Illawarra music.

The Illawarra gig guide

Tumbleweed singer Richie Lewis says the all-ages show is something the band has been thinking about since reforming three years ago.

"Friends have been asking when are we going to do an all-ages show so they can bring their kids along," he says.

"Our fan base has grown up.

"Then we decided we might as well do another one at night, so hence the two in one day."

In their role as elder statesmen of the Illawarra live music scene, Tumbleweed also see it as a chance to promote local bands.

"It's an opportunity to get together a few of the younger bands we haven't had the opportunity to play with before," Lewis says.

"There's a lot of young cool bands doing good stuff at the moment.

"We've picked the cream of the crop for this one, it's going to be really cool."

Lewis says he and his bandmates are finding the second incarnation of Tumbleweed less demanding than the first.

"We fit it better into our lives now," he says.

"There was a time when we lived and breathed it 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. It was our lives and consumed every other aspect of our lives as well.

"These days we've got jobs and families and other aspirations and we use Tumbleweed as an escape, I suppose, from the normal everyday lives that we lead.

"Also, it's just a good time for old friends to get back together, so it's more social - although we are in the process of completing our new album so it has been creative as well.

"Being free of having to make it a living has enabled us to create something again together and to enjoy it at the same time.

"It's not contrived. It doesn't feel like it's forced. It's just something that is a good creative outlet for us all."

Lewis says Tumbleweed will play mostly old favourites, with a few new songs mixed in. The band hopes to have a new album out around the middle of the year.

Despite the long break, Lewis says the band had no trouble slotting back into the Tumbleweed groove.

"It's funny with Tumbleweed, it's like this entity that has its own life and we sort of get sucked into it," he says.

"Even though all five members have gone off and done different things and all have different influences, when you get us back together the Tumbleweed thing takes over."