Tickets $10.00 + bf. Doors 7.30pm.

Tantalise at The Toff is the fusion of two powerhouse bands on the Australian music scene at the moment, Lake Minnetonka and Bernadette Novembre. 

They will be bringing their unique brand of Soul, Funk and everything in between.

In the vein of Prince, Morris Day and the Time, Madhouse, and Sheila E, Lake Minnetonka is the funk juggernaut forging a Melbourne take on the Minneapolis Sound.

Having collaborated with artists such as Eric Leeds (fDeluxe, D’Angelo), Dr Fink (Prince and the Revolution), Sonny Thompson (NPG) and most recently, St Paul Peterson (The Time, fDeluxe), their 80s inspired jazz fusion and on-stage antics will leave you on a purple high.
“Bernadette Novembre: Melbourne’s new voice of soul” - BEAT Magazine

Bernadette Novembre is not what you would call conventional. Her music defies modern pop standards and is a heady mix of Soul, Blues, Reggae, Garage Rock and Jazz. Bernadette's music is her soul made tangible - all her life experiences and emotion enriches each note in every one of her songs - nothing is left out.

Having started her musical career at just the age of 6, Bernadette toured both Australia and Europe as support act for international artists. Even for such a small person at the time, her stage presence was '...demanding and electric'. Growing up, she would spend hours listening to her Mother's vinyl collection; music from Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Zombies, The Supremes, Jacques Dutronc, Cher, Dusty Springfield - just to name a few. These musical influences are quite evident throughout Bernadette's songwriting.

Early in February 2017, Bernadette met with renowned Australian Producer RHyNO (Paris Wells, Rita Satch, Kimbra) and expressed her desire to record a swing/jazz album. At their first songwriting session however, the music took a different turn and the track 'Everybody Knows' was born and others soon followed in a similar Soul/Garage Rock style. This unique sound was a true representation of the music Bernadette loves and listened to in her formative years.

In February 2018, Bernadette released her debut EP Rebounding to critical acclaim. The songs were written together with Ryan Ritchie (Mushroom Music), who also plays keyboard and guitar on the tracks. Other talented and well known musicians that were also involved in the making of the EP included Ivan Khatchoyan on Drums (Cookin' on 3 Burners and The Traffic), Jamie Stroud on Bass Guitar (Fulton Street), Travis Woods on Trumpet (Horns of Leroy), Chris Vizard on Trombone (Horns of Leroy) and Sam Boon on Baritone Saxophone (Saskwatch, Fulton Street & Guy Sebastian). The EP was recorded at Ginger Studios and mastered by Steve Scanlon.

Radio Stations across Australia and the world soon caught on to Bernadette's unique brand of Soul. The songs were given airplay by Vincent Peach, DJ Miss Goldie and Ethan Manchild from PBS FM (Melbourne) and John Bailey and Chris Gill from Triple R (Melbourne). Most recently, Bernadette's music has reached regional Australia such as Radio Goolarri in Broome and also the USA. Binky Griptite (Dap-King and guitarist for the late Amy Winehouse) introduced Bernadette's music to New York City with regular airplay on his radio program The Boogie Down on WFUV Radio. This regular radio exposure across Australia and internationally has increased Bernadette's popularity and she has been causing a stir around the country and internationally with her 10 piece band. She recently was chosen as support act at Cherry Bar for Tim Ries (Saxophone player for The Rolling Stones) and Kylie Auldist, headlined PBS FM's Soul-a-Go-Go at The Night Cat and was part of the lineup for the 2019 St Kilda Festival. Other venues she has played include The Night Cat, Memo Music Hall, The Evelyn Hotel, Bar Open, Big Mouth St Kilda, Dog's Bar, Paris Cat Jazz Club, Bird's Basement, Sooki Lounge, The Tote, The Penny Black, The Spotted Mallard and a monthly residency, 'Neon Soul', at inner-city bar FAD Gallery.

In March 2019 Bernadette released two new singles 'Delirium' and 'Forgotten Times' together with two new music videos Directed by the internationally acclaimed Bruce Gil. Bernadette will start working towards her debut full length Album in June 2019.