Over the years both the 8-piece and big band have been critically acclaimed for their musicianship and polished professionalism. In 1992 Daryl McKenzie took over the role of Musical Director of the Nine Network’s “Hey Hey It’s Saturday” which began a long lasting musical collaboration with Wilbur Wilde. For the next 8 years the Hey Hey Band performed with international artists such as Tom Jones, Joe Cocker, Barry Manilow, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Roger Daltry and Randy Crawford; as well as Australian artists such as Tina Arena, Human Nature, Tommy Emmanuel, James Morrison, Rhonda Burchmore, Debra Byrne and Marcia Hines to name a few. Not many bands can boast performances with Samuel L Jackson, Shane Warne and Grant Hackett! The band toured internationally to the USA and Malaysia and also performed to large concert audiences in Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Sydney, Gold Coast and Ayers Rock. Since the end of the television stint, the Daryl McKenzie Band has continued to perform at corporate functions and major events including the Melbourne Grand Prix, the VAC Federation Australia Day concert, the Sounds of Christmas for the Salvation Army, the reopening of the Adelaide Casino, and was featured at the North Queensland Jazz Festival in Mackay and Jazz in the Vineyards at the Morning star Estate. The big band has also featured on the soundtracks of several movies such as “The Wogboy”, “After the Rain” and AFI award winning scores “Bootmen” and “La Spagnola”.

Both the 8-piece and big bands perform a wide range of material to suit all tastes. The extensive repertoire ranges from the classic songs of the big band era through the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s disco hits and right up to the latest in great current dance music. The band features some of Australia’s finest singers and instrumentalists.