Sydney · five piece · covers
Small
Things
We're five friends playing songs everyone knows, usually with a bit of a twist. Pubs, markets and community events, around Sydney.
We can sit in the background while people eat and talk, or turn it up and get the room dancing. Often both, in that order.
Watch and listen
Three songs from the Downtown Markets
Outdoors under a marquee in Pennant Hills, with market shoppers and people eating lunch a few metres away. Filmed on a phone.
Four songs in a bit over four minutes
The Lovecats, Can't Get You Out Of My Head, Jet Airliner and Rich Girl, one after the other. Our own recording rather than a gig, crowd noise and all.
Demo recording · four songs
What a gig looks like
How a night usually runs
Every room wants something slightly different, so we'll shape it around yours.
Two or three sets
About 45 minutes each, with a short break between. There's enough in the repertoire for a full three hours if that's the night you're running.
Volume to suit the room
We've played outdoor markets, function rooms at bowling clubs, small rooms and big ones. Quiet enough to talk over or loud enough to dance to, and we watch the room to work out which.
As much chat as you want
Between songs we can work the crowd or stay out of the way entirely. Tell us which you'd rather and we'll run it that way.
One thing worth being upfront about: we're not a straight party band. An hour of non-stop, full-tilt energy isn't really us - there's more light and shade to it than that.
The songs
A sample set list
Sixteen from a much longer list, spanning the sixties well into the two thousands. A few get properly rearranged along the way - think Titanium as a new wave rock tune, or Can't Get You Out Of My Head as a funk jam.
- EasyThe Commodores
- Rich GirlHall & Oates
- Is She Really Going Out With Him?Joe Jackson
- Just The Two Of UsBill Withers
- Jet AirlinerSteve Miller Band
- The LovecatsThe Cure
- TitaniumDavid Guetta feat. Sia
- Video Killed The Radio StarThe Buggles
- Can't Get You Out Of My HeadKylie Minogue
- I Will SurviveGloria Gaynor
- Come TogetherThe Beatles
- Dancing QueenAbba
- DreamsFleetwood Mac
- Give A Little BitSupertramp
- Better Be Home SoonCrowded House
- Time After TimeCyndi Lauper
The list keeps growing, mostly because we pick songs we want to play ourselves. It's all covers, no originals.
Who we are
Emma, Paul, James, Stu and Josh
We've played in other bands together over the years, and been friends just as long. Between the five of us there's decades of covers band experience, a sound engineering background and a rhythm section that locks in - so the sound and the energy in a room get as much attention as the songs.
Small Things started in 2023, when Paul and James were asked to play background music for a fundraising dinner at our local church. A few rehearsals in we worked out we needed a singer, and Emma was the obvious answer. It was meant to be a one-off. We were having too much fun for that, so we kept rehearsing and made it permanent.
Josh on drums and Stu on bass made it five, and brought the variety and energy we could never quite manage as an acoustic trio.
These days we rehearse fortnightly, more often before a gig, usually with a glass of red on the go. We like playing this stuff, and we like each other's company.
Where the name comes from
It's about the set-up. We've all done time in bigger covers bands with a van's worth of gear - James used to cart three full-sized keyboards and two stands to every gig, and now plays two tiny ones. Small things. Travelling light turns out to be handy more often than you'd think.
Where we play
Recent gigs, and the ones we'd like next
Next up
December 2026
Thornleigh Community Carols
Thornleigh, Sydney
Recent gigs
Downtown Markets
Wollundry Park, Pennant Hills
Two hours outdoors, playing to market shoppers and people sitting down over lunch.
NSW Ecumenical Council fundraising dinner
Parramatta Cathedral
A seated dinner for 150, indoors. About as far from an outdoor market as you can get.
What we're a good fit for
Pubs and beer gardens are top of the list - a sunny Saturday afternoon rolling into the evening is about our favourite thing to play. Markets suit us too, and so do community and not-for-profit events. All five of us have been involved in that world over the years, so helping one of them go well matters to us more than it probably should.
We're in northern Sydney and play across the greater Sydney area. For the right event we'll go as far as the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains or Wollongong.
The practical bit
We travel light
There isn't much you need to have in place, and we can usually work around what you might not have.
A power point or two is genuinely all we need from a venue. We've squeezed into three metres by three before and it was fine - not ideal, but it meant the gig still happened. If you've got more room than that, we'll very happily use it.
We can bring our own PA if you haven't got one. Lighting isn't something we provide, so if the room needs to look like something after dark, that's a job for someone else.
Enquire
Tell us about your event
What we charge depends on how long you want us for and how far we're travelling. Tell us what you've got in mind and we'll come back with a number.
It helps if you can include:
- The date
- Venue and suburb
- Start and finish times
- Indoors or outdoors
- Roughly how many people
- Whether you've got a PA
We'll get back to you within a couple of days. If it's easier to talk it through, say so and we'll give you a call.
info@smallthingsmusic.live