Hero Bonfire …
Lady Rizo
Sweet Honey …
Van Canto
Dick and Christa Hughes
2-12 JULY, HOBART | 14-16 JULY, LAUNCESTON
TICKETS ON SALE WED 6 MAY 12 NOON AT FESTIVALOFVOICES.COM
“Sweet Honey in the Rock is one my of my favorite groups in the whole wide world,” –Michelle Obama
Festival of Voices will transform our town into a glorious singing city for the eleventh time,
this July. Festival of Voices is thrilled to announce its remarkable 2015 program: headline
artists include Grammy award winning Sweet Honey in the Rock, as well as the world’s first
heavy metal a cappella group in an Australian Exclusive – Van Canto. A long list of major
music talents including The Exchange (USA), Christa Hughes, Ella Hooper, Katie Noonan,
Meow Meow, Jeff Duff, Wes Carr, Lady Rizo (USA), Holly Summers-Clarke, and former
Olympian Matthew Mitcham.
Australia’s premier celebration of the voice, the Festival will again attract thousands
of singers, choristers, and vocal conductors for the chance to hear
harmonies soaring in concert halls and theatres and on every corner of historic Hobart. Moving
into its eleventh year you can expect a magnificent program of performances and –
uniquely – workshops run by the artists, creating a festival experience like no other.
‘In 2015, the Festival is proud to present a program that celebrates the diversity of human
voices in a showcase that welcomes all ages, not only bringing in the best from elsewhere, but
proudly shining a light on Tasmania’s own home grown talent. For the first time, the Festival
has expanded its program to Launceston to present an even greater body of work celebrating
singing talents from across Tasmania and around the world,’ said Festival Director Tony
Bonney.
Sweet Honey in the Rock will make a long-awaited visit to Australia for its performance in
Hobart on Friday 10 July and in Launceston on Tuesday 14 July. Singers of all ages and
abilities will also have the opportunity to work with Sweet Honey in Hobart over six days and
take part in the one-night only concert for a singing experience that is guaranteed to resonate
for life. An all-woman, African-American cappella ensemble, they are a Grammy award
winning group (nominated multiple times). They express their history as African-American
women through song, dance, and sign language. The ensemble is interested in exploring
worldwide issues and is currently focused on subjects as diverse and hard-hitting as
immigration injustices, environmental imbalance, racial issues and gender inequality. All the
while, their powerful vocals are outrageously infectious and seemingly heaven-sent.
“We’re truly honored and excited to be invited by the Festival of Voices to share the power of
our unique musical offerings and global experiences, collaborate with all the choral ensembles
in the workshops and perform concerts for our loyal Australian and Aboriginal fans,”
the group said.
German super-group Van Canto will make their Australian debut in a widely anticipated onenight
only performance in Hobart on Saturday 11 July. Blending the thrill of heavy metal with
the melody of a cappella, the German artists have attracted popular and critical acclaim and
filled packed stadiums around the world. As the world’s first a cappella metal band, Van Canto
has melded the oldest and simplest form of music, the voice, with hard-wired heavy metal and
the result is heart stopping. Unlike any artist before, they are unique and must be seen to be
believed.
Hobart’s most iconic winter event returns this July with the City of Hobart Bonfire and Big
Sing on Friday 10 July. Now eleven years strong, this remarkable night brings together the
people of Hobart and unite them in one voice – creating light and warmth, banishing the
dark…on a magical winter’s evening.
Another major events this year will be one of the Festival’s most ambitious projects yet. For the
first time, it presents Joseph Haydn’s glorious oratorio The Creation on Saturday 11 July with
world-renowned conductor, David Lawrence (UK), orchestral accompaniment and three
divine soloists. ‘I am looking forward to my third visit to Hobart for Festival of Voices. For
workshop participants this represents the next step on the ladder. Together we have already
performed in Haydn’s much smaller work, The Nelson Mass, and Mozart’s exquisite Requiem,
and I am thrilled that we will now master this next ambitious musical challenge,’ said David
Lawrence.
The Festival is delighted to again open with Tasmania Sings on Thursday 2 July, a music
learning initiative that gives school children from around Tasmania the remarkable opportunity
to learn and perform with acclaimed Australian composer and performing artist Paul Jarman.
The long list of musical highlights continue when Father-daughter jazz duo Dick and Christa
Hughes party like its 1929. Their 21st Century Blues show brings authentic jazz, blues and
vaudeville – old and new. Dick and Christa don’t just sing the blues – they are the blues. Dick’s
hard-hitting, ivory crunching style combined with Christa’s extraordinary vocal prowess and
sassy stage presence makes this a music masterpiece with an edge. As Barry Humphries
said, “She is exciting, exuberant, inventive and above all, she kind of gives vulgarity a good
name”.
The bawdy laughs continue when international cabaret queen Meow Meow returns. Direct
from sell out shows in New York, London, Berlin and Shanghai, Meow! is a one off showcase
of performance exotica sure to hypnotize, inspire and terrify. The crowd-surfing queen of
‘kamikaze cabaret’ brings her own twist to music greats ranging from Brecht to Radiohead.
MEOW in Hobart’s Theatre Royal! What could possibly go wrong? Warning: This show may
contain inadvertent nudity, pretend smoking and archaic sexual references.
‘Meow Meow… is that rare combination – devilish funny bones and heavenly vocal chords…no
one now does it better than Meow,’ -The Evening Standard (UK).
The Festival is thrilled to welcome back The Exchange this July. They are contemporary a
cappella at its best. They’ve just finished a 55 city tour of the US, released their new album
and are getting ready to bring back the party exclusively to Hobart and Launceston this July.
This time they will be holding two workshops for young emerging performers, as well as a
short course and performing at the Theatre Royal and Princess Theatre.
Don’t miss Katie Noonan as she performs at the Princess Theatre in Launceston on
Wednesday 15 May. With new original material to share, this will be an exclusive Tasmanian
premiere of her new album Transmutant. Returning to her first love, Katie will perform with a
band for the first time since 2010, harking back to the days of George and The Captains.
The Festival has made a new addition to its program with the announcement of Keep One
Eye On The Stranger – an exclusive songwriting and mentoring workshop with Australia Idol
winner Wes Carr. A handful of young Tasmanian singer songwriters have been selected to
participate in a two-day closed workshop. Developing their songwriting craft, they will have the
remarkable opportunity to perform their songs alongside Wes Carr at the prestigious Theatre
Royal for this one off showcase evening on Wednesday 8 July.
Festivalgoers can get up close and personal with electric Ella Hooper when she showcases
her debut solo album, In Tongues. Ella also joins Melody Pool and Gena Rose Bruce for a
mystical line-up of female greats in a smoky and strident magic circle of ‘White Witches’.
Lady Sings it Better sees four female talents re-write hits by the world’s most famous male
front men ranging from AC/DC to Bruno Mars. The pop classics continue, as Voicebox brings
a diverse line-up of music greats to life: Darren Percival and the Southern Gospel Choir
rock the house with classics from blues master Ray Charles on Festival Opening Night, while
Jeff Duff channels the Starman himself with a stunning showcase of David Bowie magic.
“Sinatra, Presley, Jagger, Popeye and now Duffo.” – Andy Warhol 1980
While, New York City’s multi award-winning cabaret superstar Lady Rizo visits brings to
Hobart for the first time her luscious vocals, irrefutable glamour and piercing wit to perform pop
songs mashes stirring original anthems travelling from Judy Garland to the Pixies. A music
highlight with a twist, Gold medal Olympic champion diver Matthew Mitcham, shows the
diversity of his talents. Matthew made history with the highest single-dive score ever at the
2008 Olympics. Away from the pool, he excels just as much with a moving and very personal
musical tribute. Best known for his 25 year career as front man of the Black Eyed Susans,
Rob Snarski brings his 2014 Album Wounded Bird that garnered Triple R’s Australian Album
of the Year and was voted the Best Australian Gig of 2014. This is a rare opportunity for locals
to hear ‘one of the great romantic singers’ of our generation in an atmospheric performance at
Port Arthur. Finally, young cabaret and rising starlet Holly Summers-Clarke brings a floriade
of jazz, pop, and folk, with her rich, velvety vocals.
‘We are thrilled we will once again be welcoming a brilliant array of artists, conductors, and
musicians, as well as more than a thousand choristers and singers to the Festival. It is those
hordes of crazed ensemble-ists that roam the streets and laneways, night and day, that make
visiting the Festival a truly unique experience. This Australian music event is for everyone, be
you a singer, learner, adventurer, punter, performer or aspiring heavy metal a cappella singer,
we assure you that you will be part of something remarkable,’ said Festival Director Tony
Bonney.
Carmen Stephens, Festival of Voices
