News 10, Geelong Arts Centre The Killers 18, D.Matthews + Bridget Sharp 20, The Waifs 22, Katie Noonan +

GEELONG ARTS CENTRE PRESENTS SEASON 2023

Bringing the best of the best to Geelong

Credit Michelle Grace Hunder

Prepare to experience absolute entertainment excellence as Geelong Arts Centre prepares to dazzle in 2023 with extraordinary arts to suit everyone. Launching December 1, 2022, and supported by Major Artistic Partner, Deakin University and Innovation Partner, Costa Asset Management, Geelong Arts Centre Presents 2023 is designed to offer something for everyone across four outstanding programs that break boundaries, start conversations, and celebrate innovation.

Guided by the strong belief that the arts have the power to provide new perspectives, challenge our thinking, and reveal otherwise hidden sides to the stories we tell ourselves and one another, Geelong Arts Centre have designed a 2023 program that embraces creativity; transforming minds, shifting ideas, and encouraging us to reconsider our preconceptions.

Our Season 2023 features high-calibre works, fit for Victoria’s fastest-growing city. The must-see season features performances from a multitude of the nation’s most highly regarded companies, including Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Griffin Theatre Company and many more. Putting the spotlight on those with a reputation for producing outstanding work, the Geelong Arts Centre’s Our Season 2023 celebrates both internationally acclaimed talent and rising homegrown powerhouses.

Soon to be the largest regional arts centre in Australia, it’s here in the heart of Geelong that audiences can experience an amazing array of carefully curated performances that are nothing short of extraordinary.

OUR SEASON 2023

From contemporary dance and ballet to musical theatre, comedy and orchestral extravaganzas, Geelong Arts Centre is bending genres, sharing stories and raising the bar with Our Season 2023. Highlighting the country’s most celebrated artists as well as the brightest rising stars of the stage, Geelong Arts Centre is playing a pivotal role in navigating the way forward for bold entertainment experiences and unique opportunities across our region.

Covering a diverse and timely range of subject matter, including the #MeToo movement and First Nations perspectives, Geelong Arts Centre continues to platform the voices of those with important stories to be shared. The full season of performances will be announced on 1 December, so be sure to visit their website or sign up for their newsletter to be the first to know.

FAMILY MAGIC

Back by popular demand in 2023, Geelong Arts Centre’s Family Magic program will continue to captivate, inspire and entertain children under 12, as well as their parents, siblings, grandparents and carers. For many kids across the region, the Family Magic program provides their first theatrical experience and allows families to immerse themselves in the magic of the performing arts. Sometimes fantastical, funny, and always engaging, Geelong Arts Centre’s Family Magic program will have the young (and young at heart!) leaving the theatre with sore cheeks and full hearts.

DELIGHTFUL DAYS & MATINEES After a brief hiatus, it’s finally time to re-welcome an essential part of Geelong Arts Centre's daytime entertainment calendar, Delightful Days & Matinees, to the party. Bringing some of Australia's best-loved performers to Geelong, Delightful Days & Matinees (formerly Musical Mornings) returns to Geelong Arts Centre with two unmissable performances. Due to be revealed very soon, you can trust the ever-adventurous team at Geelong Arts Centre to make daytime events at your Arts Centre as memorable, engaging and utterly delightful as possible.

REWIRE Solidifying its place as the creative heart of the G21 region, Geelong Arts Centre is announcing a brand-new program of genre-bending performances and unique experiences with REWIRE. Launching for the first time in 2023, REWIRE is a celebration of new works, contemporary Australian voice, new mediums, immersive experiences and shows that are seriously great fun. Staging works that challenge, thrill, and delight all at once, REWIRE will deliver an assortment of acts that encourage interaction and exploration with a modern edge. Learn what it means to REWIRE your brain and adapt to the ever-evolving world. REWIRE is the home of bold, curious, creative and a little bit crazy within Geelong Arts Centre’s 2023 lineup and we are absolutely here for it.

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE Who doesn’t love saving money? To experience any or all performances within Geelong Arts Centre Presents 2023, Geelong Arts Centre will open five flexible subscription package options on December 1, 2022, to include shows across all programs, from Our Season 2023, REWIRE, Family Magic and Delightful Days & Matinees! Whether you’re after shows to cover date night, mate night or a fabulous family day, with an extensive lineup of incredible arts experiences on offer next year, there truly is something for everyone and any occasion.

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY But that’s not all! Devoted to supporting the Greater Geelong community, from students and teachers, right through to emerging local artists, Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative Learning education program and Creative Engine artistic development program are set to return bigger and better than ever in 2023.

CREATIVE ENGINE Equally dedicated to lining up the next big thing to hit Geelong, and supporting local artists and people working in the creative industries, Geelong Arts Centre continues to grow its spirit for experimentation through its Creative Engine program, supported by Innovation Partner, Costa Asset Management. Bringing new content and cultural experiences to Geelong, embracing a desire to extend the art form's boundaries and create a community of shared practice, Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative Engine relishes the opportunity to facilitate connections and bring together the creative community. Launched in October 2019, no matter what art form you practise, Creative Engine offers a place for locally-based creatives to test their work, develop new projects, and then share them with the world. In 2023, Creative Engine will continue to offer regular grant rounds to invest in emerging projects, and provide professional development opportunities to assist artists on their journey to building sustainable, thriving practices and careers in the creative arts. Watch this space.

CO-WORKING SPACE Boasting sleek, state-of-the-art office and studio facilities promoting professional and creative collaboration, the co-working space at the Geelong Arts Centre is among the most creative, central and affordable arts business hubs in Geelong. Located on Level 2 of Geelong Arts Centre’s landmark Ryrie Street building, the co-working space offers a contemporary open-plan office space and a range of purpose-built studios, enabling you to get shoulder-to-shoulder with local creatives and connect with likeminded, creative practitioners from all disciplines, in a space where you can foster new ideas, collaborations, networking and skill sharing.

CREATIVE LEARNING The brilliant teachers of the region haven’t been forgotten. Supported by APCO Foundation, the Creative Learning program is designed to spark a love for the creative industries among students and open them to a world of opportunity, supported by professional theatre makers, technicians and artists. Interested educators can browse the Creative Learning program and submit an expression of interest form on the website to get ahead of their 2023 planning. Creative Learning offerings include performances and workshops embedded within the Victorian curriculum, festivals for all ages, and engaging professional development for teachers. Offering a diverse suite of programs ranging from music to movement, puppetry and theatre, the 2023 Creative Learning program offers affordable and enriching educational arts experiences that are immersive and fun for students in Kindergarten right through to Year 12.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Big enough to attract the world’s best talent, but small enough to remain friendly and local, Geelong Arts Centre really is a one-of-a-kind venue providing endless opportunities for the local community to witness incredible live performances that breathes freshness and challenges the notion of traditional theatre.

So go on, make 2023 your most entertainment-filled year yet. With so many more exciting details to come, make sure you are up to date with the latest Geelong Arts Centre announcements by signing up for the What’s On e-Newsletter via geelongartscentre.org.au.

THE KILLERS

To Implode Mt Duneed Estate for A Day On The Green

Words by Tammy Walters

Credit Danny Clinch

The closing line of Vegas rockers, The Killers, impeccable 2006 album Sam’s Town offers. “It’s good to have you with us / even if it’s just for the day...”

Geelong get ready because The Killers are joining us for a day… A Day On The Green that is!

Yes, that’s right, The Killers are making their debut at A Day On The Green 2022 at Geelong’s Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday 10 December, and Peter Lehmann in the Barossa Valley on Saturday 3 December.

With support from genre-busting pop narrator Alex Cameron with his full band and Australian rock singersongwriter, guitarist and composer Jack Ladder, the 2022 tour arrives with the rescheduling of their 2020 Imploding The Mirage World Tour, which will see the stadium rockers perform arena shows in Auckland, Christchurch, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Hunter Valley and Sydney.

Initially announced for 2020 to coincide with their sixth studio album, Imploding The Mirage, which sees The Killers exploring a new sonic direction with belters ‘Caution’, ‘Blowback’ and the stage ready ‘My Own Soul’s Warning’, the Imploding The Mirage World Tour became a Covid casualty. “We’ve played a few songs and we’ve done a string of dates here in the States - did I just write a song? - and we played a few tracks and it felt really good, songs like ‘Dying Breed’ and of course ‘Caution’ but there are so many more we want to step into and play for people,” explains The Killers drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr. “We had this thing all thought out, everyone has their own problems with this Covid thing, but we were getting excited to be playing all of these songs and then the sky fell and here we are a few years later.”

As fans patiently lined the live music waiting room, the glamorous indie rock and rollers gifted fans another album and childhood documentation, Pressure Machine, released in August last year which included a collaboration from Phoebe Bridges on ‘Runaway Horses’. Whilst combining album tours would cover the old ‘kill two birds’ scenario, Vannucci says they will allow each album to have its own breathing space.

“We talked about it. Some of the songs on Pressure Machine, we owe it to those songs to give them their own venue almost, and others we’ve adapted for the live show. I would like to have a night where we could dedicate a mood to a specific venue and play Pressure Machine as well as do alternate versions of other songs that we have in our pocket. But we will see - we sort of turn on a dime and go with what makes the most sense and feels the most organic,” says Vannucci.

Over the years, The Killers have graced our shores for a multitude of performances from festival appearances including Big Day Out in 2013, to sold-out stadium tours, and even offering a stellar hits medley as the AFL Grand Final entertainment in 2017, each time stepping up their energetic live performance and production. This time around they want a generous blend of drama and raw performance.

“We have a few ideas. We keep dreaming really, really big and talking crazy production and we always sort of end up yanking it back because we feel like it’s too many smoke and mirrors so I think we will find a nice middle ground to settle on,” he says.

“One of the things we excel at is being a really good live band - people see us play live and when they see us, they like it. So many times when you get into talking to people in production they want to do something so fantastic that the personnel; the people; on stage are forgotten about. We don’t want that, we want to be part of the whole transformation from real life to this two-hour getaway for people to see, but we don’t want them to show up and watch a fucking movie. We want them to see us play.”

The Killers will take to Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong on Saturday, 10 December 2022. For further event information and tickets, visit www.adayonthegreen.com.au

D.Matthews

The Nigerian afrobeat singer-songwriter inspires with ‘Be Somebody’

Championing his own brand of motivational and energetic calm Afrobeat and Afropop driven by the beats of Africa, Australianbased Nigerian-born singer-songwriter D.Matthews has been thoroughly embossing his name in the industry over the past few years. With a string of releases to his name, countless nightclub and festival performances and an EP and 2023 debut tour firmly in his sights, there’s no doubt that this artist has the drive, not to mention the talent, to capture people’s attention.

Inspiring, upbeat and unapologetically body-moving, D.Matthews’ newest single ‘Be Somebody’ finds the up-and-coming Afrofusion artist and producer spellbinding in a song full of heart, soul, courage and unrelenting drive.

‘Be Somebody’ serves as an awakening to live your best life and to keep pushing onward to get to where you want to go or to be who you want to be: it’s an energizing reminder that the fight is most worth it in the times that are the most difficult.

“It’s a motivational track,” D.Matthews explains. “For whoever wants to be somebody in life, you have to press forward, apply pressure and rough things out a bit before you get to the success/winning stage.

“Not most want to go through this at most times, but obviously, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Everyone runs a thousand miles, it comes down to how well you can utilise those miles to get/attain what you want for your future.”

Intimate and universally accessible, the charged anthem reveals yet another side to D.Matthews’s burgeoning, multifaceted artistry, teaming up with UK-born, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) based Nigerian artist, producer, content creator and educator Mazbou Q to further bring the track to life with his intoxicating flow and particular brand of hiphop.

“It’s been in my books to work with Mazbou Q. I had to make the call in mid-2021 for him to get prepared for collaborative work in early 2022. It had been a long time coming. I’m glad it happened.”

Listen to ‘Be Somebody’ on your preferred music service.

Bridget Sharp

Australia's answer to Maggie Rogers

Despite having only released her second solo single, Bridget Sharp has one of the most authentically beautiful voices in the industry. Her mixture of soulful, raw lyricism and soothing pop vocals complement the synth-y dream pop rhythms and melodies of her music beautifully.

Making her debut with ‘Overgrown’ last year, the Geelong indie-pop songstress and Dandecat frontwoman is back, showcasing her breathtakingly soft, delicate vocals against a whirlwind of ethereal instrumentation in her sophomore release, ‘Laundry Day’.

With nods to the likes of Maggie Rogers, King Princess and Asha Jefferies, ‘Laundry Day’ has an easily listenable and carefully crafted pop ambience that fits perfectly into the contemporary mainstream, but it’s also distinctive, naturally vibrant and a platform for Sharp to leave a mark of her own.

An overwhelming surrender, ‘Laundry Day’ was spawned by the emotional turmoil of reflecting on a past lover, with Sharp suggesting the need to break the cycle by starting with something as simple as the song's title.

“‘Laundry Day’ came from a place of emotional recalibration. I was desperately wanting to move on from this relationship, yet it seemed to continuously haunt my thoughts, both good and bad. I sought closure, tried catching up a few times to be friends, which only made it hurt more as it seemed so easy for them to move on. “I knew in order to cleanse my mind that the change had to come from me – as no amount of time was healing the wound. So, I started trying to accept the weight of how I was feeling, telling myself that it was powerful to be vulnerable and ok to feel a bit behind in life.”

Beginning in 2019 and brought to life with Melbourne producer Sam Phay and mixed by powerhouse Peter Holz, the track has evolved into the pulsing anthem that it is today, filled with a vulnerability and strength not heard from her before.

“It’s taken me this long to release it as it was a song that felt deeply personal. Admitting that you’re not doing well after a breakup can take a lot of power – because it feels like it meant more to you than it did to them.”

Listen to ‘Laundry Day’ on Spotify and find out more at www.bridgetsharpmusic.com

Credit Toni Wilkinson

THE WAIFS

Finding Their Feet At Port Fairy Folk Festival

Words by Tammy Walters

30 years ago, sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson took off in a van with Josh Cunningham to busk and gig around Albany in Western Australia. This was the beginning of The WAiFS, as it was originally styled, endless touring cycle. Fasting forward three decades and The Waifs are still on the road every weekend. Sans a forced break during the lockdown, The Waifs have consistently led festival lineups across 2022 and dived into a headline national tour, but to Vikki Thorn, the folk band have slowed down. “We have a history of constantly touring, but that obviously came to a grinding halt, and then the rest of the world did. But now we don't go out as much anymore and we're trying out this new way of touring where we go out just for weekends rather than head out for six weeks at a time.

“It’s just, I think, a natural phase for a band into a 30-year career, you wind back your live touring, especially when we're not recording albums, and we haven't recorded albums in a few years. But after having a long hiatus it’s come in waves. Now it feels like we're very busy. I've been busy and I know individually we've been busy with our solo projects over the last few years, but it hasn't actually been a lot of Waifs stuff until this year and suddenly it starts up: Summersault Series, all these big outdoor concerts, this Crowded House series and festivals. It's like nothing. And then bang,” she explains. As they head into the A Day On The Green shows, supporting Crowded House, The Waifs have been announced as joining the Port Fairy Folk Festival lineup. It’s a stage that they’ve graced multiple times before, and the giant in The Waifs beanstalk story.

“It was pretty instrumental in The Waifs' career. It kickstarted our whole career in Australia and overseas, that one festival because we were a band that was doing pretty well around Melbourne and I know Port Fairy draws from Victorian artists. We went from sort of doing all the local hangs in Melbourne and then Port Fairy booked us and they just sort of drop you in on one of those big tents. When you've got a few thousand people sitting there, but maybe they haven't heard of you, maybe they're waiting for the next act; the amount of exposure that a young and up-and-coming or unknown act can get at those festivals is almost equivalent to an overnight success, really,” Thorn explains. “That's really what happened to The Waifs. People started booking us and just putting us on in front of a huge amount of people that were interested in our sort of music that was Australian and that’s when our career started to take off. The Waifs became really popular in Victoria, more so than in WA, and I would say that is exclusively due to Port Fairy. It also launched our overseas career because the National Folk Alliance was based and did a lot of work with Port Fairy. They were the first people to sort of call us up and say, “Hey, we're going to go overseas and do these shows overseas and in Canada”.” It would lead to the next phase of their career, where their 2003 multi-award-winning album Up All Night would burst The Waifs into legendary territory. Yet The Waifs don’t forget their roots, returning to the festival year after year. Their longstanding relationship with Port Fairy Folk Festival is mutually favourable, with the festival acknowledging the band as Maton Artist of the Year during the last festival appearance. “They presented us with an amazing guitar with an inscription on it. That was really nice! I still play the Port Ferry guitar; it was one of my favourite, most cherished festival moments. But the festival itself just has the best community spirit vibe. I always loved Port Fairy because I think it feels like a little Irish town. I just love seeing the quality of the musicians that they bring, whether they're from Melbourne or from overseas, and there’s the Irish and Celtic music there, that's where I fell in love with that music, just watching these world-class musicians play that beautiful hypnotic music on that stormy coastline. It’s really special.”

Their 2023 return to the coast will see the band playing songs across their revered catalogue including their celebrated 2017 ARIA #1 album, Ironbark and their debut 25-year-old titular album, looking at having a full circle moment with their fans and the festival.

“We want to go on this little journey with you as well because we were there 25 years ago, so we're gonna check in with you again here. And that was a testament to Ironbark going number one and realising you’re all still listening. Our sound hasn’t changed, it's not like we're artists that have morphed and changed a lot. The sounds got more electric and bigger probably, starting out on those Port Fairy stages we were initially just three of us, Donna, Josh and I playing two acoustic guitars. Maybe we'll

"I always loved Port Fairy because I think it feels like a little Irish town. I just love seeing the quality of the musicians that they bring, whether they're from Melbourne or from overseas, and there’s the Irish and Celtic music there, that's where I fell in love with that music."

bring back that a little bit at the set next year; do an acoustic section where there's just the three of us.”

The process of touring, setlist curation and celebrating milestones has Thorn itching to start writing the next The Waifs album with her aim of making their legacy album.

“The band has been having like a real reflective moment where you go, yeah, this, we made a career out of this and we're doing really well. I'm amazed that we’re still doing it. We were just talking the other day about making the definitive Waifs album, which, up to this point, I think it's been Up All Night, but making an album now 30 years down the track where we actually sit and write songs together based on the music we love because we've never actually written whole a album together. We write songs individually and just put them together collectively. I think you know the album we still need to make is the one where we sit in a room and actually write the songs together. But it isn't an easy process. But I think we've all agreed it's something we should be able to do. Like, it can't be that hard after playing music for as long as we have to just go, “OK, let's knock this out and write a song collectively; write an album collectively”. I think it would be fun to do while we’re on the road,” explains Thorn.

The Waifs will be spending plenty of time in vehicles over the coming months so album number nine will hopefully be on the horizon before 2025. In the meantime help the legendary folk act celebrate their history at Port Fairy Folk Festival from 10 - 13 March 2023.

Tickets are at portfairyfolkfestival.com

Abraham Dunovits

Charango Unchained reminds us of how art can move

Melbourne musical melange, Argentinian-born songwriter Abe Dunovits has spent thirty years crafting his unique blend of rock and roll meets pop rock, with an underlying Latin, Spanish and African fusion and a dash of experimental to garnish.

Just like its creator, Dunovits’ new album Charango Unchained contains multitudes, released independently on November 10, marking his fourth solo album. Approaching music with feeling and spontaneity, Dunovits blends deep substance with deeper sound as he creates an immersive, multi-dimensional experience. The follow-up to April’s Saved by the Taco Belle, Charango Unchained features 14 songs, mostly in Spanish. It’s a play on Django Unchained, making reference to the nature of the music presented: a mix of different musical textures and styles, featuring charango, a ten-string ukulele-like instrument from Latin America, tan-tan drum from Brazil, shakers, small nylon acoustic guitars, some songs mini- electric guitar for the most part and vocals. “I have always had an eclectic taste in music, as I research and learn new styles instrumentally they tend to filter through in my compositional process,” says Dunovits. “I have been getting into Brazilian and Mexican folk styles in the last few years, so those mixed with Afro-Caribbean music styles make a great fusion, but ultimately it’s my own imagination, improvising and adventurous musicianship that leads me to create new grooves.”

Lyrically the songs are fuelled with messages of social justice or just plain tenderness, and while in Spanish, Dunovits uses the power of language and its intention behind it.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Dunovits himself, the uplifting album earns its place as a dynamic deliverance of artistry that sees the songwriter stripping it back compared to previous releases and entirely embracing his first language.

“I think as a musician I try to hone into the adventurous aspect of music, always working towards having no fear of creating. [With the new album], I have tried to have fewer instruments in each track.

“I wanted the music to become simpler, more concise, rawer and essential. Initially, the album was going to be just charango and voice.”

Charango Unchained is out now. Find out more at abrahamdunovits.com

Credit Cybele Malinowski

Katie Noonan

Bringing Joni Mitchell’s landmark album ‘Blue’ to Geelong in 2023

If you grew up in Geelong, you’ve heard of the Palais. Just up the hill from the stadium, this heart and soul of Geelong culture has been a world-class dance hall, a cinema, a bingo centre, and a music venue for iconic Australian artists such as INXS, Cold Chisel and John Farnham. Now, Palais Geelong welcomes audiences from the region to experience once again the best that the Australian and international music scene has to offer. 2022 saw sensational sell-out shows from classic rock legends Goanna, country royalty Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole, the best of world music from Ausecuma Beats, Chikchika, Ajak Kwai and Sudan’s “King of Music” Gordon Koang, and Australia’s most popular independent artist Lior.

Now the beloved venue has announced an incredibly intimate concert to kick off its 2023 season with a performance by one of the greatest Australian singers of all time, Katie Noonan. On January 7, the celebrated Queensland artist will be presenting Joni Mitchell’s Blue, accompanied by guitar virtuoso Ben Hauptmann.

According to Mitchell, Blue was “the purest emotional record that I will ever make in my life… there’s hardly a dishonest note in the vocals.” Today, Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time; the cohesion of Mitchell's songwriting, compositions and voice are frequent areas of praise.

Over the past 20 years, five-time ARIA award-winning artist Katie Noonan has proven herself one of Australia’s most hardworking, versatile and prolific artists. “Blue is an album that unequivocally changed my life. From a compositional, lyrical and vocal performance point of view it has inspired me deeply,” says Katie Noonan. “I love that the album was gifted to me from another female artist, and it is an album I regularly recommend to up-and-coming female artists also. Joni’s artistry and music genius is unparalleled, and I absolutely love singing her songs,” says Katie Noonan.

This concert will be a spine-tingling evening you won’t want to miss.

See Katie Noonan at The Palais Geelong on Saturday, January 7 2023. Tickets at www.palaisgeelong.com