Internationally acclaimed Canadian retro soul songstress, Ann Friend, is returning to Australia for a special tour throughout March. Aptly titled the Those Records tour, Ann will not only be releasing the song of the same name in the lead-up to the tour, but will also be bringing a swag of limited release vinyl with her. Celebrating the Australian vinyl release of her album For The People In The Mean Time, this whirlwind tour will be the last time Ann performs down under before she heads into the studio to record the material for her next long player.
Considered by many an honorary Australian, Ann is well-known for her enigmatic shows and is looking forward to bringing her band back with her for her 2016 East Coast tour. “I am known to a lot of Aussies as a solo performer, as up until recently I’ve performed almost exclusively solo in Australia,” says Ann. “And while I enjoy that intimate way of performing and am glad I’m able to have that ability up my sleeve, this latest album is all about groove, all about the rhythm section. So I’m pretty excited about showing off my band to Aussie audiences. We’ve toured a lot in the last two years and we have worked out some live arrangements of our material from the album that I’m really proud of.”
Ann’s last tour of Australia was a select amount of tour dates surrounding a showcase spot at BIGSOUND in September 2015. The songstress is no stranger to industry showcases and festival slots, but it was still a highlight and something she – and the band – found inspiring.
“Professionally, playing for a full house and getting such great reviews of our show was a pretty great reception to my first foray with the band in Australia,” says Ann. “Personally, it was cool to see my band members go a bit ga-ga over seeing kangaroos for the first time… even seeing one poo was apparently Instagram worthy for them.”
While 2015 was the band’s first trip to Australia, Ann has been touring Oz for almost a decade. In fact, she has made Aussie tours almost a bi-annual pilgrimage, and it is no surprise that in that time she has been embraced by Aussie music lovers. For the impressive songstress, it doesn’t get much better than escaping the Canadian winter to tour her ‘second home’ during the warmer months.
“I love that it’s your summer when it’s our winter, I love the Aussie hospitality, and I have made some really great friends- er- mates down there,” she says. “No one other than Aussies would shout out something like ‘good onya, mate’ after a song, that’s for sure… although up until a few tours ago I thought people were saying ‘good onion, mate,’ which was a bit perplexing, but still better than a BAD onion, I thought to myself. Aussies are the opposite of reserved – I like the banter back and forth between me and the audience. I get people singing along on songs and I really like it when shows are interactive.”
Always wanting to do something special for audiences, Ann is also bringing along a limited release of For The People In The Mean Time on vinyl for her Australian tour. So far the special release has been available in Canada only, so this is a big coup for Aussie fans, being the first outside of her home state to have access to the LP. Celebrating the next Australian single – ‘Those Records’ – to coincide with the tour makes March 2016 an exciting time for Ann Friend.
“It is such a retro sounding album that it was just begging to be on vinyl,” says Ann. “The fact that there’s a song on it the album called ‘Those Records’ made it a no-brainer that I should release that as the next single. I’m so happy with how the mastering on the pressing turned out, so I’m pretty proud of it, and just so pumped to have finally have it out. It was a big ordeal getting vinyl done in any sort of timely fashion, due to the high demand for it that there is these days. And it was great to be able to work with the artwork in the sense of having a bigger canvas than you do on a CD, too.”
Friday 4th March 2016 – The Treehouse, BYRON BAY NSW
Saturday 5th March 2016 – Tatts Hotel, LISMORE NSW
Sunday 6th March 2016 – 63 First Ave, SAWTELL NSW
Wednesday 16th March 2016 – The Basement, SYDNEY NSW
Thursday 17th March 2016 – Smiths Alternative, CANBERRA ACT
Tuesday 22nd March 2016 – The Toff, MELBOURNE VIC
Friday 25th March 2016 – The Goulburn Club, GOULBURN NSW
Saturday 26th March 2016 – The Milk Factory, BRISBANE QLD