Donny Benét with OTNES

Donny Benét plays HI-FI on Friday, November 6, with OTNES opening. Benét works in electronic and funk, and the set pulls from his newer instrumental work alongside the older material he's known for.

There's a specific family line to his sound. His father, Antonio Giacomelli Benet, was an Italian accordionist who made his name recording popular disco songs in the 1970s. Antonio eventually called Australia home after falling in love with the daughter of an accordion repairer and eloping to Leichhardt; the couple later welcomed Donny. For years, Donny followed in his father's footsteps, but at 15 he picked up the electric bass after deciding that nobody wanted to hear disco accordion anymore. He still plays the accordion for the elderly at the Scalabrini Retirement village, but his focus has been on the bass ever since.

That shift shows up in his recent releases. His 2022 EP Le Piano started an instrumental series, which was followed by Il Basso, a tribute to the bass. He's performing Il Basso live alongside his Benét classics, so the night will pull from both the newer instrumental direction and the older songs that built his name. OTNES opens the bill.

HI-FI is inside the Murphy Arts Center at 1043 Virginia Ave in Fountain Square. The room books shows almost every night and is known for breaking new artists, with acoustics cited as some of the best in the Midwest. Doors open at 8 PM, the show starts at 9 PM, and tickets run from $27.50 to $32.50.