Bonnie Kay and the Sweet Patooties are a 5-piece band of ladies playing sassy, bawdy blues and jazz from the 1920’s and 30’s and beyond plus some original music too. They will bring the fun with 4-part harmonies, horn lines, dynamite soloists and a red-hot rhythm section: It swings, it drives, it jives, it will knock your socks off!

The Patooties play monthly gigs at The Merton Hotel and The Ashfield Polish Club and other regular gigs in the Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong areas. They also played at the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival in 2024 and the Newcastle Jazz festival in 2024 and 2025. They are currently recording their first release.

Bonnie Kay is a bold and bluesy songstress with a voice that could charm a jukebox back to life and a guitar style rooted in fingerpicking finesse. Originally hailing from Philadelphia and now shaking up the Australian blues scene, Bonnie is equally at home belting out bawdy jazz standards or delivering soul-stirring originals. She’s a musical storyteller who doesn’t just sing the blues—she lives and laughs through them. Whether solo or leading a band, Bonnie Kay is the real deal: raw, riveting, and irresistibly rebellious. 

Bonnie is also a passionate creative arts educator and therapist, and loves being able to connect people through the joy of creating and experiencing music. 

Carolyn is a wonderfully engaging and dynamic performer who captivates audiences with her boundless energy, spontanaiety and thrilling improvisations. Her playing seamlessly blends blues, jazz, swing, and soul with an unmistakable groove. She is a boogie-woogie specialist and a soulful vocalist.

Catherine Golden is a seasoned bass player and multi instrumentalist, composer-arranger and music tutor from Sydney. She has played and toured with bands in folk, rock/pop, jazz and blues, music theatre and classical settings in Australia and internationally over the past two decades. Catherine was a finalist in the UK International Songwriting competition 2006 and has performed her original music at The Joan Sutherland Theatre. She completed a Bachelor of Music (Hons) at Western Sydney University in 2014, graduating with First Class Honours and the University Medal. 

Originally from Canberra, I studied Jazz Performance at the Canberra School of Music, ANU. Since then I have worked steadily in funk, blues, latin and jazz genres, in Big Bands, horn sections and small ensembles as a bandleader, featured artist and sideman. I have a passion for improvised music of all kinds, and a soft spot for old time Big Band music.

Performance projects over the past few years include “Trout Fishing in Quebec”, “Bonnie Kay and the Bonafides” “Pharos” (formerly “Sydney Women’s Jazz Collective”) and “Sirens Big Band”. I also lead my own group, performing jazz standards, original compositions and arrangements.

I now perform mainly at venues around Sydney and the Illawarra, and festivals around Australia including the Kiama Jazz Festival, Newcastle Jazz Festival, Sydney Festival, Sydney Women’s Jazz Festival, Parramasala and OzAsia (Adelaide) Multicultural Festivals, and the Wangaratta Jazz Festival.

I have 2 daughters and a kelpie cross.

Drums

Sydney based percussionist Katie Glendenning is a regular on the Sydney music scene, playing drums, washboard and accordion across the Rhythm and Blues (R&B), Boogie-woogie, Jazz, Hillbilly Bop, Rockabilly, Zydeco, Cajun and Country genres. Coming from a classical and blues piano background, she brings her infectious, swinging rhythms to blues, jazz, folk and country festivals regionally and interstate including Wangaratta and Newcastle Jazz Festivals, Cronulla and Thredbo Blues Festivals, St Albans and Kangaroo Valley folk festivals and Tamworth country music festival. She plays and has recorded with the sassy, all female R&B band Bonnie Kay and the Sweet Patooties, boogie woogie piano queen Bridie King, the late Roy Payne and Big Dog Zydeco amongst others.