Murray Cook and Lizzie Mack will take their soul, R&B and 1960s and 1970s repertoire into the gardens of Norman Lindsay Gallery for a special spring performance.
by Paul Cashmere
Murray Cook will swap the familiar world of The Wiggles for the sounds of Memphis and Muscle Shoals when Murray and the Movers perform at Norman Lindsay Gallery in Faulconbridge on Saturday 24 October 2026.
The outdoor event, Spring Groove in the Garden, will see Cook and vocalist Lizzie Mack lead the band through two 45-minute sets in the heritage gardens, with the evening built around the soul, R&B, rock and roll and vintage grooves that have defined their musical partnership.
For Cook, the performance brings a very different setting to the stages on which Australian audiences first came to know him. As the original Red Wiggle, he became associated with children’s music on an international scale, but Murray and the Movers has allowed him to pursue a separate musical identity rooted in the sounds of the 1960s and 1970s.
Cook and Mack have been making music together for more than 14 years. As Murray and the Movers, they have recorded four albums in Australia and the United States, including sessions at two of American music’s most historically significant studios, Sun Studio in Memphis and FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The connection to those locations is central to the band’s musical approach. Rather than presenting the repertoire as a nostalgia exercise, the group draws on the soul and R&B traditions associated with the American South, with Cook’s guitar and Mack’s vocals at the centre of the performance.
“We’ve played some of Australia’s biggest stages and most-loved festivals, but there’s something really special about performing in a place like Norman Lindsay Gallery,” Cook said.
“Murray and the Movers are all about great songs, feel-good energy and getting people on their feet, and we can’t wait to get the gardens grooving with our special mix of soul, R&B and rock.”
The setting adds another dimension to the performance. Norman Lindsay Gallery, located at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains, will open its gardens for the evening, with the event scheduled from 6pm to 9pm as the spring light gives way to an illuminated garden setting.
The audience can bring a picnic rug or chair, while food trucks will operate throughout the night. The Norman Lindsay Bar will serve Hunter Valley wines, local craft beers and other beverages, giving the event a combination of live music, food and an outdoor heritage setting.
Murray and the Movers have also attracted strong praise from Australian music writers. Stuart Coupe has described the group as “so powerful, so fearsomely funky”, while Rhythms Magazine editor Brian Wise has highlighted the emotional range within the band’s music, from heartbreak and hurt through to celebration and love.
The Faulconbridge performance is an all-ages event, with children under 12 admitted free. Tickets start at $25, making the night accessible to audiences who know Cook from his Wiggles career as well as listeners drawn to his work in soul and roots music.
Spring Groove in the Garden will give Murray and the Movers a chance to place that music in an unusual environment, bringing the sounds that took them to Memphis and Muscle Shoals into one of the Blue Mountains’ best-known heritage garden settings.
Saturday 24 October 2026, Faulconbridge, Norman Lindsay Gallery
Tickets from $25. Under 12s free.
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