Missy Higgins Announces Orchestral Concert Series

Missy Higgins will fuse her live band with some of Australia’s leading symphony orchestras for a handful of special concerts at the end of this year. The dates (listed below) will see the beloved Melbourne based singer/songwriter augmenting all her iconic hits like “Scar”, “The Special Two”, “Steer”, “Where I Stood” and “Everyone’s Waiting” with up to 60 of this country’s best orchestral musicians. Missy will also be using these unique performances to unveil a handful of brand new songs on which she’s been working for most of 2016.

“I’ve had lots of invitations to play shows with orchestras over the years but I always said no to them”, she explains. “I guess when I was younger I was just intimidated by the challenge of reworking my songs on that scale. Then last year I got asked to do a show with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in this incredible outdoor location called Skyfields in the forest outside Devonport. I’ve always liked new challenges so I figured that was a perfect opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and try something different. It was an amazing experience. The songs came to life in new and unexpected ways when we introduced all those other instruments so I decided to try something similar this summer in other parts of Australia.”

Joining Missy on all shows will be Melbourne folk artist, Ben Abraham, who has been building an international following for his personal and heartfelt cinematic folk music.  Recently reformed iconic Brisbane band George, will also join Missy for her Perth show only.

One of the most successful and acclaimed female singer/songwriters in Australian music history, Missy Higgins has sold over a million albums in this country, enjoyed multiple #1 hits and won 9 ARIA Awards. Her latest release – a benefit single called “Oh Canada” to draw attention to the plight of Syrian refugees – attracted global attention.

Missy has spent the last few months in the U.S. playing several weeks of sold out club shows, co-writing songs in LA and Nashville and traveling with her husband and 18 month old son. After all that time away she’s looking forward to finally getting back home for this handful of concerts.  Missy says:

“I know it’s not the first time that a contemporary musician has teamed up with great orchestras in this way but other than that one time in Tassie this is the first time for me so I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be something very different and hopefully something very special.”

MISSY HIGGINS

ORCHESTRAL CONCERT SERIES

PRESENTED BY FRONTIER TOURING

with special guest BEN ABRAHAM

Tickets available from www.missyhiggins.com

EXCLUSIVE FAN PRE-SALE

Exclusive fan pre-sale starting 10:00am (AEST) Friday, 12 August

and ends Saturday, 13 August.

(or ends earlier if pre-sale allocation exhausted)

GENERAL PUBLIC TICKETS ON SALE

Tickets for all shows available from 10:00am (AEST) Wednesday, 17 August.

 TOUR DATES 

Thursday, 3 November

State Theatre Sydney with Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Friday, 18 November

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre with Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Sunday, 27 November

The Plenary Melbourne with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, 3 December

Kings Park Perth with The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (special guests George)

Saturday, 10 December

Bird in Hand Winery Adelaide with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Missy Higgins announces 2016 US Tour

***NEW SHOW ADDED*** Thursday 16 June – 12th and Porter, Nashville TN – Info & Tickets
On sale Thursday 26 May 10:00am CST

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

Hi friends,

I’m about to go to the US for a tour! I am super excited to be taking my little family over there.

It’s been a few years since I was last in America. Last time I had a tour there planned, my wonderful little accident happened (now named Sammy Arrow), so we unfortunately had to postpone… but now it’s back on!

I am doing a bunch of dates on the East and West coasts, and a few in the middle. Starting in New York and ending in LA.

Please check out the dates below to see if I’m playing anywhere near you. It’ll be an acoustic tour, just me and my instruments. Really intimate kind of shows, lots of story-telling, which is what I love.

See you all there!

Missy xx

Watch Missy’s special video message for her US fans!

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 3.10.59 PM

—————————–

MISSY HIGGINS
2016 US SPRING/SUMMER TOUR DATES

ON SALE NOW

Friday 20 May – Rough Trade, Brooklyn NY SOLD OUT

Sunday 22 May – The Sinclair, Boston MA SOLD OUT

Tuesday 24 May – The Birchmere, Alexandria VA – Info & Tickets

Wednesday 25 May – World Café Live, Philadelphia PA – Info & Tickets

Saturday 28 May – Fine Line, Minneapolis MN – Info & Tickets

Sunday 29 May – Bluebird Theatre, Denver CO – Info & Tickets

Thursday 2 June – Star Theatre, Portland OR – Info & Tickets

Friday 3 June – Columbia City Theatre, Seattle WA SOLD OUT

Sunday 5 June – Great American Music, San Francisco CA – Info & Tickets

Monday 6 June – Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA – Info & Tickets

NEW SHOW ADDED Wednesday 8 June – Belly Up, Solana Beach CA – Info & Tickets

NEW SHOW ADDED Thursday 16 June – 12th and Porter, Nashville TN – Info & Tickets
On sale Thursday 26 May 10:00am CST

New single ‘Oh Canada’ out now – watch the video

A note from Missy…

Like most people, the photo of little Alan Kurdi being carried out of the water shook me to my core. We often read about the tragic plight of refugees but I think that picture exposed us to the reality in such a raw way that the truth became inescapable.  From where I sat in my comfortable living room nursing my newborn son, the tiny child in that wrenching image could have been my own little boy. I felt overwhelmed by a profound protective instinct for him and people like him.

Alan died along with his little brother, his mother and many other Syrian people on that boat. The only survivor of the Kurdi family was Alan’s father, Abdullah.  My heart wept for Abdullah – his loss was literally unimaginable.

Writing songs has always been my way of dealing with strong feelings and this situation obviously stirred up a lot of emotions. So initially I started writing about it just to try and make some sense out of something so senseless.

At the same time I realised that it was a complicated situation and so I read as many articles as I could about the Kurdi family. It soon became clear that various people were trying to co-opt Alan’s story for their own purposes and that lead to all sorts of claims and counterclaims about their circumstances. As far as I could tell it seems that Abdullah’s sister lived in Canada and he ultimately dreamed of having his family join her there. Their brother had previously attempted to obtain a visa into Canada but had been refused, so believing that there was no other choice, Abdullah apparently borrowed the money from his Canadian sister to pay an illegal people smuggler to take him and his family somewhere safe. Their dream? To escape a life of violence in Syria and find peace in Canada.

I wanted to try to write this story from Abdullah’s perspective because ultimately I felt his quest was so relatable. I imagined that during that tumultuous boat journey, his heart cried out for Canada to embrace him and his family. Obviously, in this song, ‘Canada’ represents anywhere in the world that might be the preferred sanctuary for people like the Kurdi’s. Amongst other countries, it represents Australia which has such an abhorrent record in dealing with people seeking asylum who try to travel to our shores by boat. Some sections of the media have helped turned these poor people into criminals, but in reality they are usually exactly like us; just not lucky enough to be born into our privilege.

‘Oh Canada’ simply aims to tell a story. It’s not preaching anything in particular, it’s simply my attempt to make sense out of senselessness. If it also reminds people of what happened to Alan and his family then I think that would be good – after what they went through they don’t deserve to be forgotten. If the song reminds people how the picture of that lifeless little boy made them feel then that would be even better because that proves we’re all very similar people who just happen to live under different circumstances. If the song inspires anyone to do something on behalf of refugees – to speak up for their rights and to push back against those who seek to inflame our fears and prejudices – then I think that would be best of all.

Missy xx

—————————————

‘Oh Canada’ is accompanied by a powerful animated video created by award winning director Natasha Pincus and animation director Nicholas Kallincos and you can view it below.

Caritas and World Vision support programs in Syria and neighbouring countries that create spaces where children can express their feelings of the past and hopes for the future. The drawings in the “Oh Canada” video are by children in Caritas programs in Damascus, Syria and in World Vision programs in Beirut, Lebanon. Both the global Caritas network and World Vision have helped millions of people affected by the crisis in the Middle East.

Help Caritas Australia and the Caritas network continue this important work by visiting www.caritas.org.au/syria
Help World Vision to provide ongoing support through these projects by visiting www.worldvision.com.au/syria

      

100{8c7182c8a34ec4ec9212ad453ffbf7291e5ae01fcacfb4928d4d46071654c352} of net proceeds go to ASRC (Asylum Seekers Resource Centre)

Missy’s Summer tour is under way!

Missy’s Summer Tour is well under way!

Missy had a great time performing in front of a sell-out crowd at the Riverstage in Brisbane alongside John Butler Trio and The Waifs – including a couple of new songs!

Check out Missy’s Instagram for some behind the scenes pics.

Missy is now looking forward to shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, Tasmania and country Victoria… There are still tickets left for some of these shows – click here for full show details!