Don West (2026)

One Liner: Throwback soul from another Aussie
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - classic soul
Home: Sydney

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 12
Day: ?
Both Weekends.

[location]

Thoughts:  This freaking guy was here just last year.  Can we really not find something new?  Well, here is my review from then for you to re-enjoy.

I really wish that this guy was one of the four listed Don West people named in Wikipedia.  Don West (educator) (1906–1992), American writer, poet, educator and civil-rights activist; Don West (wrestling) (1963–2022), American pitchman, television personality and professional wrestling broadcaster; Major Don West, a fictional character on the TV series Lost in Space; Don West, a lawyer in the trial of George Zimmerman in 2013.  Instead, we have a soulful supermodel-looking dude from Australia.  More Aussies on Saturday!  What is going on!?

Anyway, the sound here is (mostly) some classic Stax/Motown-era soul music.  Real instruments, real recording, etc.  Occasionally, he angles into a classic rock sound like the Black Keys might.  Very limited catalog for now with only singles and on 2024 EP named Don West.  Biggest single so far is called "Small Change." 55.8 million streams (up from 22.7 last year).

I mean, look at my guy.  If he is not modelling on the side then someone is asleep at his agency.  On top of that, to have a beautiful singing voice to go with it?  Who could say no!?  The horns and falsetto in there just make me happy.  That is a fun tune.  He apparently taught himself guitar with his dad's classic guitar, and then joined his brother's band - Sons of the East - as a bassist.  How you gonna keep that sexy bastard off to the side behind a bass?

Second-biggest streamer is "Friends," with 35.3 million streams (up from 11.3 last year).

And then this one brings all the vibes to the table.  Just slow and sultry and groovy to the max.  Although it is hard to understand how you claim you can just be friends right after you just claimed that you still touch yourself when you think of her.

Great tunes.  Easy call to go and let this classic sound just wash over my early afternoon.

ACL 2026 - Lineup is here!

And I'm afraid that it has been built to appeal to my teenager daughters and not me.  I see a few good rock things on there, but the weekend one headliners are all things that I would naturally avoid.  I'm a little bummed out right now.  We will have to dig in and find the gems, I suppose!

The most important thing I need to figure out is how to fix the cookies or whatever it is with Google and Blogger that are making it so that I can't upload videos or images.  I can't add an image of the dang lineup without going to my phone to add it from there.  If I don't fix, this season of writing these blogs is going to be really frustrating!

But those headliners are very pop-heavy - Charli, Rufus, Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, The XX.  I've done Skirllex before and don't need to do it again, and the Kings of Leon are great (but are only weekend two).

Turnstile, The War on Drugs, Amyl and the Sniffers - those will be fun.  And then, yikes.  I've heard of a few of those below there, but very few.

Onward!