Summer Sundays gets medieval

AN eclectic mix of international talent and home-grown soulful sounds will be taking over Kryal Castle this well to see out the last of the Summer Sundays series.

Kicking things off, audiences will have the chance to hear the soaring vocals of 22-year-old independent muso Candi Wade.

With her guitar and vocal looper in tow, the multi-skilled musician is known for putting on engaging and interactive shows that consistently surprise in their ability to seamlessly jump between genres.

Second up, Yorta Yorta singer and songwriter Benny Walker will be returning solo to Ballarat to showcase his new album acoustically.

Growing up listening to a variety of blues, punk, rock and roots, Walker said when writing his own music, he tends to pull from his history and mix and blend genres together.

“I’m excited to be back playing live gigs in general but I haven’t played in Ballarat for a couple of years so I’m super excited to come back for Summer Sundays,” he said.

“I love getting out and playing and it’s a very cool location, I don’t think I’ve ever played in a castle so very exciting.

“This is will be my first show in 2021, so a pretty great way to kick it off.”

In addition to putting out his new album last year, Walker said he tried to make the most of not having to rush around for a tour.

“Releasing the album mid-last year, I haven’t had the chance to play the songs live so I’ll be playing quite a lot of new stuff on Sunday as well as a few dad jokes in between songs,” he said.

“Not touring last year though gave me and my brother the time to start up our Indigenous employment consultancy and help unemployed Indigenous people into training.

“It’s great, we’ve been able to make a positive impact during a pretty pessimistic and negative time.”

Finishing up the day with one of the most awarded and well-known Australian artists is the now solo Ross Wilson, who’s set to mix in some new tunes with a selection of his classics.

With 26 ARIAs under his belt and chart-topping hits to his credit as a singer, songwriter and producer, Wilson said after such a strange year, he’s ecstatic for the opportunity to play again.

“I’m pretty excited because it’s the first show that I’ve been able to do since March last year,” he said.

“I’ve fronted a couple of bands that hit the big time over the years like Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, so we’ll be playing songs from those repertoires, mainly songs that I’ve written myself.

“There will be a couple of new ones too because I’m working up towards a new album … some that I worked on throughout the year during the downtime.”

Playing in a variety of successful bands and performing iconic songs including Eagle Rock and Cool World over the years, Wilson said he’s still constantly inspired by the people he meets and the audiences he plays to.

“We’re part of the community in that when I get on stage, it’s not me preaching to people … I can’t do it without an audience,” he said.

“When we do play, my goal is to get everyone moving and dancing around and having a really good time and that way we’re doing it together.

“I look at music as a community thing, and yeah I’ve played at a lot of different places but we’re just one big country and that’s what I’m aiming to do is bring people together.”