Hallowed songstress Red Hot for imminent Bendigo bash

NEXT weekend’s star-studded Red Hot Summer Tour at the Bendigo Racecourse will hold the unique distinction of featuring three of Australia’s most well-loved and prolific modern day singer-songwriters – septuagenarian troubadour Paul Kelly, alt.Country queen Kasey Chambers and pop/folk prodigy Missy Higgins.

Debuting with The Debutantes in 1974, Paul Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997 and was named Best Male Artist three times.

Kasey Chambers grew up performing in her family’s Dead Ringer Band, launching her solo career in 1999 with critically acclaimed debut album The Captain.

She followed up with Barricades & Brickwalls in 2001, with single Not Pretty Enough climbing to No. 1 on the ARIA charts in September 2002.

Not to mention Missy Higgins, who got her start on Triple J Unearthed during her late teens in the early 2000s before releasing hit single Scar in 2004, which went on to sell over 150,000 copies in Australia alone.

She took home the Breakthrough Artist – Album, Best Pop Release, and Best Female Artist awards at the ARIAs that year.

Higgins said the “all-Aussie” tour, which has already taken in parts of regional New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, has so far been “chilled”.

“All the bands, we know each other pretty well from over the years so it’s been really lovely to see them again and to be hanging out backstage, doing some jams and catching up,” she said.

“This is the second time we’ve done Red Hot Summer and last time we had a great lineup as well.

“It shows that Australian music is thriving at the moment, particularly with our demographic and our fan base.”

She said the Bendigo stopoff represents “a fun way to get out with your friends and let loose alongside thousands of strangers”.

“It’s so great to play regional places because they’re towns where live music doesn’t visit very often, and it feels like there’s so much joy in the crowd and people are so excited.

“We always love playing in Bendigo – it’s not too far from me so being so close to home, it feels very familiar.”

The Red Hot Summer Tour takes place tomorrow week, Saturday 14 March.

Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.