Beloved Aussie singer/songwriter Missy Higgins has announced a one-off Australian tour called OZ. These September/October dates will be Missy’s only shows for at least the next 12 months.
Tickets for The OZ Tour will be released at 10am August 14 from the usual outlets.
The announcement of this special concert series follows hot on the heels of two other major Missy announcements. Firstly she revealed that she is due to give birth to her first child in early January (hence her strictly limited touring plans). Secondly she just unveiled a brand new album of eclectic Australian cover versions and a companion book of essays. Both the album and the book are called OZ.
OZ – the album, and OZ – the book, will be released on September 19. They can each be enjoyed on their own or they can be experienced together in a deluxe cloth-bound CD/Book edition.
Now comes news that OZ … the tour … will commence in Cairns the day after these book and album releases. Fittingly the strictly limited tour will then take the ARIA Award winning singer/songwriter right around Australia before finishing in her hometown of Melbourne on October 29.
The concerts will see Missy combining some OZ songs with her own classics such as ‘The Special Two’, ‘Scar’, ‘Steer’, ‘Where I Stood’, ‘Unashamed Desire’ and ‘Everyone’s Waiting’.
Special guest on the tour will be acclaimed young singer/songwriter, Dustin Tebbutt whose evocative songs ‘The Breach’ and ‘Bones’ have made him one of triple j’s most played new Australian artists. Dustin will perform at all shows with the exception of Darwin and WA dates.
Also appearing on most dates will be Jherek Bischoff who co-produced OZ. Jherek has worked with leading innovators including David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Amanda Palmer.
Explaining the OZ project Missy said, “I wanted to put together a group of wonderful Australian songs just as a different sort of challenge. I wanted to avoid all the obvious ones though because “Great Aussie Songbook” collections have kinda been done to death. All that mattered was whether I felt I could make the songs my own so the tracklisting ended up as a real mixed bag of lollies.”
“Then I thought it might be fun to also try writing some essays to accompany the music in various ways and that lead to the book.”
“The essays and the music are meant to be enjoyed together like I’m nattering away while the album plays. But, of course, if people just want to just enjoy them separately then that’s fine too.”
Most local listeners will probably already be familiar with classic OZ songs like Paul Kelly’s ‘Before Too Long’ or The Angels’ ‘No Secrets’. However, this will be many people’s first encounter with gifted composers like Sydney taxi driver Perry Keyes (‘NYE’) or Melbourne art-rock combo The Drones (whose epic ‘Shark Fin Blues’ is one of the album’s centerpieces). Then there’s works like the indigenous anthem ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’ and Slim Dusty/Joy McKean’s country classic ‘The Biggest Disappointment’ which deserve to be heard outside the communities in which they’re already iconic.
Throw in critically acclaimed artists like The Go Betweens (‘Was There Anything I Could Do?’), Don Walker (‘The Way You Are Tonight’), Neil Murray (‘Calm & Crystal Clear’) and Something For Kate (‘You Only Hide’) plus the accompanying book and it’s clear that OZ is not ’just another covers album’.
Over the last decade Missy Higgins has become one of our most beloved singer/songwriters. Her three previous albums, The Sound of White, On a Clear Night and The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle, have sold more than a million copies. They’ve each gone to #1 on the Australian charts and each has also been recognised with ARIA Awards.
MISSY HIGGINS – OZ TOUR
Sat 20 September – Cairns, Cairns Civic Theatre
Tue 23 September – Townsville, TECC – Auditorium
Wed 24 September – Mackay, MECC – Plenary Halls A&B
Fri 26 September – Caloundra, The Events Centre Theatre
Sat 27 September – Brisbane, BCEC – Great Hall
Sun 28 September – Toowoomba, Empire Theatre
Tue 30 September – Gold Coast, GCAC – Arts Theatre
Wed 1 October – Lismore, Lismore City Hall – Churchill Auditorium
Fri 3 October – Newcastle, Civic Theatre
Sat 4 October – Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Mon 6 October – Chatswood, The Concourse
Tue 7 October – Penrith, Joan Sutherland PAC – Concert Hall
Thu 9 October – Wollongong, Anita’s Theatre
Sat 11 October – Canberra, Canberra Theatre
Sun 12 October – Wodonga, The Cube
Wed 15 October – Geraldton, Queens Park Theatre *
Thu 16 October – Perth, Crown Theatre *
Sat 18 October – Bunbury, Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre *
Sun 19 October Mandurah, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre *
Wed 22 October Darwin, Darwin Convention Centre *
Sat 25 October Adelaide, AEC – Theatre
Wed 29 October Melbourne, Regent Theatre
Jherek Bischoff Only *