Best entertainers in Blacksmiths
Blacksmiths sits on the strip of sand between Lake Macquarie and the ocean, and the acts nearest to it wrap right around the lake. Two of the ten give Blacksmiths itself as home, a cover band and a duo, then the rest come from Pelican next door, Wangi Wangi and Toronto on the western shore, Eleebana and Fennell Bay at the top end, Dudley on the coast side. None of them is more than a quarter of an hour away. That's a lake list, not a Newcastle one, and it's a better local bench than most beach suburbs this size get.
The bigger pool behind it is Newcastle's, twenty minutes up the road, and that's where the wedding bands and party bands in the trade mix mostly live. What the lake ring adds is the odd thing: a drag act at Summerland Point, a Moulin Rouge-style cabaret show at Pelican, a blues band at Dudley. So for a fiftieth at a surf club in Swansea or a backyard on the channel you can book close to home, and for a full five-piece wedding band you'll probably end up on the Newcastle page as well.
Top picks in Blacksmiths
Top picks are the nearby performers with the most visible reviews, then rating, then the closest; further afield the closest come first, and premium listings break remaining ties. Distances are straight-line from Blacksmiths. Ask each act whether they travel to your venue and what that costs.
Questions people ask about entertainers in Blacksmiths
How long is a drag show?
Most drag shows run in blocks: a set or two of numbers with a break to change, and a host who works the room in between, so an hour is the usual booking and two is a big night. The drag act on this list is based a few minutes away at Summerland Point, which matters, because a performer with a full costume change doesn't want a long drive home at midnight. Tell them the room and the crowd; a surf club function room and a backyard get different shows.
How much does it cost to hire a band near Lake Macquarie?
Around the lake the price follows the size of the band and the hours more than the suburb, because nothing on this list is far enough away for travel to matter. A cover band doing three sets with its own PA is the big ticket; a duo for the same hours is the cheaper way to fill the same afternoon. The from-prices beside each act above are what the Lake Macquarie bands are quoting now, and the acts without one will send a figure when you ask.
Do Newcastle bands charge travel to Blacksmiths?
Not usually, because Blacksmiths is inside the run most Newcastle acts do every month; Belmont, Swansea and Caves Beach are the same trip for them. Where a line appears it's the late finish rather than the distance, a band packing down at one in the morning and driving home. The Newcastle page is the place to look for a bigger band, and most of them will quote the lake the same as they'd quote the city.
Booking tips
The lake is in the way
Wangi Wangi and Toronto look close on the map and they are, as the pelican flies. By road it's the long way round through Toronto or over the bridge at Swansea, so give the act your exact suburb and a finish time before they quote.
A show act changes a birthday
A cabaret show or a drag host does in an hour what a band takes all night to do, and both are on this list from a few minutes away. For a hens night or a big birthday, price one against a duo and see which the room would rather have.
Summer weekends belong to the lake
December and January fill up with boat-club functions, work Christmas parties and beach weddings from Caves Beach to Redhead, and the cover bands take those bookings first. A winter Saturday at Blacksmiths is a much easier ask.