BOB EVANS ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE NATIONAL TOUR
Bob Evans, the ARIA winning alter ego of Jebediah frontman Kevin Mitchell, has today announced an extensive national Australian tour, hitting up capital cities and regional towns across April, May and June, letting fans know he’ll be treating them to a complimentary six track EP, Zeroes To Heroes, of unreleased material for all tickets purchased from his website and online outlets. After the release of his critically acclaimed LP Car Boot Sale, and following a packed out co-headline tour alongside Josh Pyke in late 2016, the Lonesome Highways Tour will kick off at Front Bar in Canberra on April 20, before moving through Newcastle, Central Coast, Katoomba, Sydney, Cronulla, Bulli, Toowoomba, Bellingen, Brisbane, Rye, Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, and wrapping in Castlemaine at the Bridge Hotel on June 9.
Gracing the Australian music scene for more than two decades, Mitchell is a self-confessed romantic who has written some of the country’s most beloved songs. Under the alias of Bob Evans, Mitchell has released five albums, all of which showcase the versatility and skill of this talented songsmith. Gentle, acoustic melodies prevail, enveloping the classic folk storytelling and strong emotional pull that charactises Mitchells’ substantial body of work. Reflecting on his remarkable career, the ever-humble Mitchell says, “I never could have forseen where all of this was going to lead way back when I was a teenager just starting out, making an almighty racket with Jebediah. I have been gifted a pretty amazing life and career and I still get such a huge buzz out of it. Knowing there are people out there who have been supporting me for years and years just blows me away and makes me want to be better.”
To give fans a taste of what’s coming, Mitchell has today released a live acoustic video of My Matilda, a track from this exclusive package of unreleased material. “The Golden Age of Showbiz” and “My Matilda” are both songs that just missed out on being recorded for ‘Goodnight, Bull Creek!’ back in 2008 and ‘Car Boot Sale’ just last year. I just like ’em and wanted to give them their moment.” Speaking on the complimentary six track EP for online ticket buyers, Mitchell generously offers, “I have so many songs that have almost made it on to records in the past but have just missed out for one reason or another and I’ve always wanted to share them with people and I thought this would just be a good way to say thank you to the people who support me.”
Continuing to champion young female artists, Mitchell will name an all-female cast of main supports across each leg of the tour. Thrilled to embark on such a wide-ranging tour, Mitchell still cherishes the special connection experienced between the performer and the audience, enthusing, “I’m still really drawn to getting up on stage in front of a room full of strangers and giving myself over to that experience, and trying to create something out of nothing for us all to share. I’ve honestly been doing it for such a long time now that I wouldn’t know what else to do with myself. A lot of the time, I feel more comfortable and more myself when I’m onstage than off of it and the feeling of statisfaction I get from playing a good show is unbeatable.”
And what is to be expected from this run of shows? Mitchell hints at what’s in store for excited audiences, “These are all going to be intimate shows so it will be very up close and personal. I’ll be playing songs from across all of my records, a few covers too… I’ll take requests and then screw them up. We’ll all be firm friends by the end of the night.”
Tickets to the Lonesome Highways Tour will go on sale on March 10 at 10am and all ticket purchases from www.bobevans.com.au and other online outlets will receive an exclusive six track EP of unreleased material.
BOB EVANS LONESOME HIGHWAYS TOUR
THU 20 APR | FRONT BAR, CANBERRA ACT | 18+ no supports
FRI 21 APR | LIZOTTES, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+ w/ Amy Vee
SAT 22 APR | HARDY’S BAY CLUB, CENTRAL COAST NSW | 18+ no supports
WED 03 MAY | CLARENDON GUEST HOUSE, KATOOMBA NSW | 18+ no supports
FRI 05 MAY | CAMELOT LOUNGE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+ w/ Bree De Rome
SAT 06 MAY | BRASS MONKEY, CRONULLA NSW | 18+ w/ Bree De Rome
SUN 07 MAY | HERITAGE HOTEL, BULLI NSW | 18+ w/ Hannah Park
THU 11 MAY | THE SPOTTED COW, TOOWOOMBA QLD | 18+ w/ Bree De Rome
FRI 12 MAY | 5 CHURCH ST, BELLINGEN NSW | 18+ no supports
SAT 13 MAY | BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE QLD | 18+ w/ Bree De Rome + Royal & The Southern Echo
THU 01 JUN | BAHA, RYE VIC | 18+ w/ Alana Wilkinson + TBA
FRI 02 JUN | THE CROXTON FRONT BAR, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ w/ Alana Wilkinson
SAT 03 JUN | WORKERS CLUB, GEELONG VIC | 18+ w/ Alana Wilkinson + Rachael Brennan
THU 08 JUN | GRACE EMILY HOTEL, ADELAIDE SA | 18+ w/ Bec Stevens
FRI 09 JUN | BRIDGE HOTEL, CASTLEMAINE VIC | 18+ no supports
For tickets and details head to www.bobevans.com.au
MAYA ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO WHAT AFTER NOW
Compelling future-soul vocalist, MAYA has today announced her thought-provoking new single, What After Now (out March 24), an earnest pledge to live in each passing moment. Accompanying the track is an empowering, triumphant video that commands attention with its effortless cool, thanks to director Dayne Edward. To celebrate the chic release, MAYA will be performing a string of shows across Melbourne at Paris Cat on March 24, The Rising Sun on April 1 and The Toff In Town on April 25.
What After Now is the result of an already-accomplished artist willing to test, track and expand their own creative process, and explore the complex array of motives that stir and propel society in every which way. MAYA comments on her generation’s obsession with what is to follow the now from a position of youth, yet with a maturity and reason well beyond her years. The track itself is a powerful, driving, irresistible jam, overflowing with attitude and evoking influences such as Hiatus Kaiyote, Solange and Alicia Keys. “What After Now is about living in the moment, loving who you are and being who you love,” MAYA warmly enthuses, “It was inspired by all the times I have been challenged by my future, but have just tried to enjoy the present. I wanted people to remember that our future may be unknown and daunting, but if you can just get through each second in the now you don’t have to worry about what’s to come. It is inspired by everyone around me and the way the new generations are always trying to be somewhere else.”
The clip for What After Now can only be described as celebratory; rejoicing in the undeniable strength that women possess. It is simple and compelling, boasting an international feel with its glamorous chic, yet balanced perfectly with MAYA’s radiance, inner beauty and charm. The video sees MAYA and her sisters lounge luxuriously, projecting infinite wisdom and owning the message the song portrays with courage and pride. “The video clip was inspired by my childhood love of dressing up. When I was a kid I was never happy in my own skin, so I would dress up to make myself feel like a different person,” explains Maya. “ I asked my beautiful sisters to join me as I want to create imagery that entrances people. I want people to hear the lyrics and understand the meaning while also having fun with it. Dayne found a way to capture us all looking so alike yet so different at the same time, which I thought was a beautiful metaphor for humanity.”
In light of the release, MAYA is thrilled to be able to spread the message of What After Now live to audiences across Melbourne, saying “Performing is my favourite aspect of all. I love to use projections, dancers and art to bring each show to an original light. I will always try and speak to my audience in a new way each time, sharing not just my story but my soul.”
MAYA fortifies her sound with elements of 90s hip-hop, jazz, soul and something else you haven’t heard before. What After Now takes you on an emotional journey into the self, but keeps you grooving the whole way down.
What After Now is set for release on March 24.
MAYA ‘WHAT AFTER NOW’ LAUNCH SHOW
FRI, 24 MARCH | PARIS CAT | 18+
SAT, 1 APRIL | THE RISING SUN HOTEL | 18+
TUE, 25 APRIL | THE TOFF IN TOWN, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from thetoffintown.com | 03 9639 8770 | AT THE DOOR
GINGER AND THE GHOST ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘GLOW’ AND TOUR
Avant-garde duo Ginger And The Ghost have today announced their impressive new single Glow, a progressive, futuristic pop anthem characterised by a spontaneous chorus, out March 24. An accompanying video for the track has also been released, featuring the pair adorned in exquisite body painting and enveloped in stunning, celestial special effects. To celebrate Glow, Ginger And The Ghost will be playing an exclusive run of shows kicking off at the Museum of New and Old Art (MONA) in Tasmania on the 18th of March, and wrapping up in Sydney at The Nest Creative Space on April 21.
With mountainous praise from taste-makers around the world, not to mention from the platinum hit-maker Diplo himself, Ginger And The Ghost’s new single Glow certainly lives up to the hype. Intricate, with cutthroat production by Ian Barter (Paloma Faith, Amy Winehouse) and idiosyncratic vocal phrases that recoil and expand with ease and skill, everything propels towards the chorus; sweeping electronics ascend and blissfully explode into the ether where the voice is chant-like; “Glow! Glow! Glow!” Vocalist and one half of the enigmatic duo, Missy Gilbert, reflects on the meaning of releasing such an empowering track in today’s global environment, “The feeling is indescribable because we know it’s just the start of our new sound and vision. We have been making this body of work for over two years and right now what we have to say is aligning with the global consciousness as a call to action. This is a pivotal time as an artist to be bold, to connect and to voice your passions, concerns and align yourself with what you believe in.”
The clip for Glow is as unique as the song it accompanies. The title motif is construed quite literally as both the costumes and effects are ethereal and lustrous. The duo are impassioned and it is left to the audience to interpret whether they are in combat with the ‘glow’, or allied with it. Co-directed by the band themselves and noted director Polly Snowden (Mamakin, Tinpan Orange), the clip is powerful and ominous. Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Bourne explains, “The story depicts us floating in space, masked and stagnate. We find enough energy to remove our masks and so begins the transference of energy between one another until it becomes so big it overwhelms us. Only after succumbing to it do we realise that this energy is an extension of ourselves and we can in fact harness its power.”
A Ginger And The Ghost live performance encompasses their own art installations and costumes as well as the music itself, so there is no more appropriate venue for the duo than MONA in the beautiful surrounds of Hobart, Tasmania. The pair will end the tour with a hometown show in Sydney, and are thrilled to bring their music to life on the road, as Missy enthuses, “Ginger And The Ghost performances are a hyper real, immersive and interactive experience with an Australiana aesthetic. We have many top secret collaborations coming together and we are so excited about the people who are involved artistically and musically.”
Ginger And The Ghost are Missy Gilbert and Daniel Bourne.
Glow is set for release on March 24.
GLOW SINGLE TOUR
SAT 18 MARCH | MONA, TASMANIA | AFTERNOON
FREE | www.momahobart.net.au
SAT 18 MARCH | THE GRAND POOBAH, TASMANIA | EVENING
https://www.thegrandpoobahbar.com.au/
SUN 19 MARCH | MONA, TASMANIA | AFTERNOON
FREE
FRI 21 APRIL | THE NEST CREATIVE SPACE, SYDNEY
www.gingerandtheghost.com.au / www.thenestcreativespace.com