Tom Petty tribute about fulfilling a dream

THE music of rock and roll legend Tom Petty is coming to town with Learning to Fly: A Celebration of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to hit The Capital stage this month.

The show rolls into Bendigo following a sell-out debut performance in Melbourne in January and includes a band and collection of talented singers.

One of those singers, Rebecca Barnard, said the stage is full of musicians paying tribute to Petty and his friends.

“There are five singers in the show, and we all sing about three songs each,” she said.

“We also sing backing vocals on each other’s songs as well. Most Tom Petty songs you’ll notice have got a harmony somewhere.

“I also get to perform the duet Stop Dragging My Heart Around with Nick Barker. So, I become Stevie Nicks, which is really fun. I don’t dress up or anything, but I do kind of channel her voice.”

Barnard was the force behind 90s indie-pop act Rebecca’s Empire and said the idea of a Tom Petty show had long been floating around for a while.

“Dan Lethbridge who is kind of the musical director and I have known each other for years,” she said. “We had always thought someone should do a Tom Petty show.

“Not a tribute band as such, but this is more about honouring the songs of Tom Petty, you know and doing them as close to as well as he can.

“One day Dan rang me and said, ‘We’re going to do it. Are you in?’ and I said, ‘Bloody oath I’m in’. and he got a great band together.”

Barnard said the audience is in for a fun show that features a lot of talent honouring Petty.

“The crowd can expect an incredible band of really top-shelf musicians,” she said. “We are replicating his songs but with different singers. So, you know, it’s interesting having females singing his songs.

“I know this sounds like a hard sell, but it’s a feel-good show full of nostalgia for when great music was being made.

“You know, people love it, and the band loves it. The band loves doing it, which really comes across.”

The show is set for Sunday, 21 May at 4pm with tickets on sale now at gotix.com.au.