It has been far too long since legendary Australian blues musician C.W. Stoneking was in town.
Come February 28, Cairns fans will have the pleasure of seeing the gloriously original performer in all of his rollicking glory when he takes to the iconic Tank 5 stage for a rare and intimate solo performance.
Stoneking’s last and only appearance in the far north was in 2014 at Tanks as part of an extensive national tour celebrating the release of his latest album to date, Gon’ Boogaloo.
This time round he will be paying a special visit to Cairns, Mackay and Townsville only as part of the ‘C.W. Stoneking And His Own Shadow’ solo concerts.
To describe Stoneking’s style of music can be a little tricky.
The 1920s pre-war blues sound is key, but there is equal helpings of New Orleans jazz, jug band music, hokum, country and calypso, and lately he has brought in elements of jump jive, early rock’n’roll and gospel.
His gift is that he brings them all together without anything sounding out of place.
“It’s getting everything to unify really,” Stoneking explains.
“The music, the flow of it, keeping it moving, with no dead spots. If you didn’t speak English maybe, you’d still be able to feel the melody, or the sounds of the words. If you did, then the meaning would also flow. That’s sort of what I’m trying to do, I guess.”
His career is not shaped by the need to constantly pump out record after record, with the predecessor to 2014’s Gon’ Boogaloo, Jungle Blues, coming out six years earlier in 2008 and scooping the 2009 ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots album, which led to a global tour and sell-out shows.
Instead, Stoneking follows his own unique rhythm.
He surprises first-time listeners, throws curveballs at long-time fans, and everything he does contains at least some background level of bafflement for all involved.
Fans can expect songs old and new at his upcoming show, as well as some favourites performed as never heard before and, knowing Stoneking, perhaps a few surprises too.
C.W. Stoneking plays Tanks Arts Centre on Friday 28 February 2019. Tickets available through Ticketlink
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