Australian Premiere
Presented by Viv Lees
in association with
Melbourne Festival and
Philip and Caroline Cornish
MUSIC
MUSIC
An
Evening with
Billy Bragg (UK)
Presented by Viv Lees in association
with Melbourne Festival and
Philip and Caroline Cornish
On the 100th anniversary
of Woody Guthrie’s birth,
Billy Bragg brings the songs
of the folk music pioneer to life
in a rare acoustic show.
When the first Mermaid Avenue album was
released in 1998 it introduced a whole new
generation to the songs of Woody Guthrie, the
US folk singer-songwriter who has been hailed
as one of the most important and influential
musical artists of the 20th century. Comprised of
never-before-heard songs plucked from Guthrie’s
lost manuscripts, the Mermaid Avenue project saw
Billy Bragg and country rockers Wilco give riotous
life to this man and his passionate, mischievous,
political and romantic music.
In honour of Guthrie’s 100th birthday, these
lost songs from the ‘dust bowl troubadour’ are
brought to life by Billy Bragg – the rightful heir to
Guthrie’s alt-folk tradition. Playing acoustically,
Bragg creates an intimate portrait of this curious,
beguiling and sometimes contradictory icon.
Celebratory, honest and for one night only,
this is an unmissable tribute to a songsmith
whose works have left an indelible imprint on
music history.
Billy Bragg presents a free talk as part of
Ringside: Artists in Conversation (see page 51).
Event Information
Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
Fri 19 Oct at 8pm
1hr 50min including interval
$86 / $68.80 / Grp $77.40 / Snr $73.10
Transaction & booking fees may apply
Arts Centre Melbourne 1300 182 183
artscentremelbourne.com.au
Ticketmaster 136 100
melbournefestival.com.au
Photos Anthony Saint John
Presenting Partners
Supported by
Philip and Caroline Cornish
Rocker, troubadour, firebrand:
for three decades, Billy Bragg
has been the resolute voice of
Britain’s political conscience.
From his beginnings as an anti-Thatcher,
folk-punk agitator, through to his elevation
to pop poet laureate of the political left,
Bragg has remained one of the most inspired
and committed songwriters and musicians of
his generation.
To complement his Woody Guthrie tribute
concert, this solo performance sees Bragg play
a set of classics from his 12 studio albums,
mixing it up with his trademark wry humour
and wordplay. Join us at the barricades once
more for an irreverent, rowdy and affecting
show from a man who has defined the
sound of modern protest music.
Event Information
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall,
Melbourne Recital Centre
Sat 20 Oct at 8pm
1hr 50min including interval
$83 / $66.40 / Grp $74.70 / Snr $70.55
Transaction & booking fees may apply
Melbourne Recital Centre (03) 9699 3333
melbournerecital.com.au
Ticketmaster 136 100
melbournefestival.com.au
22
“No other reconsideration
has captured Guthrie
in all his compelling
contradictions
as precisely or as
affectionately as
Billy Bragg and Wilco’s
Mermaid Avenue.”
Pitchfork (USA)
Billy Bragg
Celebrates
the Legacy of
Woody Guthrie
(UK)