With crowds returning to the Castle Lounge on Friday nights, with are thrilled to unbutton our line up for the period that takes us across the prime party period in Penrith!

With us again on November 14 are local boys The Robertson Brothers, busy promoting their latest album Flight 1974, where the boys took a bit of a plunge into some country influences and produced an ARIA chart-topper in the title track. Ask them to include their latest single Not Beautiful in the set as well, they won’t be able to resist! They rejoin us on Boxing Day to help you kick on from your post-Christmas excesses, and then again in late January.

The Shy Guys know how to party and picked up the Best Covers Band award at the 2008 ACE Awards. They have a brilliant song list and play with enormous spirit and warmth, and kick off their new year’s campaign here in the Castle Lounge on January 2, while Frogs On Toast (pictured above) are back with their beloved and highly theatrical show on November 28,

Matt Black & The Phat Cats join us for the first time on December 5 with a song list that delves deep into the foundations of rock’n’roll, while in January the veteran cover band Radio Bandits draw on a song list that has evolved over their more than 11 years together to rock the Castle Lounge once more.

Once seen never forgotten...I think that is a tired old cliché that rings especially true of Jeff Duff. As little more than a kid I remember seeing him on TV with his band Kush back in the seventies, and let’s just say I didn’t get it! But I’ve never forgotten him. I was pretty sceptical when he rolled in here with his current jazz line up a few months back, but it is a complete understatement to say he knocked me out! What a voice, what charisma, what style. This guy is international quality, swanning around the stage, interacting with an audience that became fans in record time. Once seen, never forgotten, and now that I’m old enough to know better...forever impressed! He’s back with us on November 29.

Amongst a long list of highlights during summer, I would urge you not to miss Bird Yard Big Band, who’ve been slotted in twice (November 22, and December 20). They are a band you would go and see every week if you had the chance; a big band in the truest sense of the word, and brimming with class and quality musicianship.

Another much anticipated act comes as we edge closer to Christmas, the 6th of December sees Greg Poppleton and his amazing Bakelite Dance Band (below) here to evoke the sounds that made the 20s and 30s jazz scene so memorable and influential.

Join us for a Saturday afternoon cold one and chill out!

When you see the size of the crowds and the level of enthusiasm and excitement returning to our venue on Saturday nights as we have in recent times, you come under pressure to advance your line up to the next level. At the risk of gloating, I can confidently say we have never had a stronger line up of acts appear in the Castle Lounge over summer than what has been booked here. For regulars in our room, there isn’t an act listed on this page that hasn’t been given a major Castle Lounge tick of approval. No explanation needed, the line up speaks for itself.

Meanwhile, we are working to improve your experience in other ways, and over summer you will see there are plenty of upgrades taking place in our Castle Lounge. We are launching an overhaul of our sound and lighting systems, and the party atmosphere of the room should seriously benefit. Also, just to beef things up, over the coming weeks we’ll be drawing weekly winners at 1am. Our “Party People’s Bounty” will splash plenty of prizes around in the form of petrol & Coles Myer vouchers.

Take a tip from some of Sydney’s top party bands, and make Penrith RSL your number one choice on a Saturday night...

The Castle Lounge will play host to the cream of country music in Australia with some of the hottest recording stars, and a spattering of legends in a very tight program through summer.

Legend spotters will have no trouble identifying Bill Cate when Cate Country Band plays with is on the 23rd of November. Old timers will remember Bill from Bill and Boyd back in the 70s (‘Santa Never Made It Into Darwin’). In this band he plays alongside his stunning daughter Melanie, and livewire son Matthew, and it is a show not to be missed.

Following an album called ‘Back There’ that established her amongst the elite of the country music scene in Australia, the Castle Lounge warmly welcomes in Tracey Killen on the 16th of November.

It will be a thrill, as always, to welcome back Mauritian born Michel Rose, his axe wielding mate Stu French and former Kiwi vocalist Camille Pele Te Nahu on November 23. Their band, the Feral Swing Katz is one of the most consistent, foot stomping outfits in the land.

The pocket rocket, Kel-Anne Brandt (pictured above),  a well known face to those who used to watch her with Bert Newton on ‘Good Morning Australia’, joins us again on December 7. I, for one, can’t wait to hear her play live the excellent single ‘Sometimes You Win When You Lose’ from her album ‘I’m A Big Girl Now’, which is her latest release.

Jason Lee, who has so quickly become a fan favourite in the Castle Lounge, will provide the country flourish to our Birthday Sunday celebration on December 21, with the stunning Nicki Gillis and her band on hand our final country show of the year on December 28.