Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal has a diverse line-up of artists set to feature this month.
Tonight March 10 Mistletone proudly presents Niger psych-rock guitar sensation Mdou Moctar, bringing his mighty band to Castlemaine for one transcendent night only.
A self-taught Tuareg guitar prodigy, Mdou Moctar boldly reforges contemporary Saharan music and “rock music“ by melding Eddie Van Halen pyrotechnics, full-blast noise and guitar shredding, field recordings, drums rhythms, poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers to rip a new hole in the sky.
Mdou Moctar’s home is Agadez, a desert village in rural Niger. Inspired by YouTube videos and traditional Tuareg melodies, he mastered the guitar which he himself built and created his own burning style.
Next Friday March 17 two of Australia’s finest storytellers, Liz Stringer and William Crighton are set to join forces as part of their co-headline tour. Both notoriously powerful live performers, Stringer and Crighton also share a deep engagement with the struggles, challenges and triumphs of the communities they perform in. Their songs acknowledge time, place and common human experience, spearheading the new generation of the truly Australian voice.
The tour follows the release of Stringer’s lauded 2021 album First Time Really Feeling and an eighteen-month stint as part of Midnight Oil’s touring band, and Crighton’s acclaimed
second record, the 2022 ARIA Award winning & AMP nominated Water and Dust, as well as a huge European summer of touring which saw him opening for the Dead South and
Midnight Oil respectively.
Then on Sunday March 26 catch ‘Songs for Suzanne: The Music and Poetry of Leonard Cohen’ featuring Henry Wagons, Rebecca Barnard, Delsinki and Alma Zygier performing Leonard Cohen’s most enduring songs, including “Bird On A Wire”, “So Long, Marianne”, “Avalanche”, “Suzanne”, “Famous Blue Raincoat” and “Hallelujah”.
Songs for Suzanne will be a celebration of the beginnings of a distinguished career of a brilliant singer-songwriter. Leonard Cohen’s initial success came as an author, with two novels and four collections of poetry preceding his debut album. Cohen’s own readings of some of these works, which saw him compared to James Joyce, will be incorporated into the show.
For tix to these incredible shows visit theatreroyalcastlemaine.oztix.com.au
