Today marks the start of Mia Dyson’s national, two-month tour, promoting her latest album, ‘Idyllwild’.
After a move to the US four years ago, the blues-rock musician has worked with Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and opened for Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac).
This Australian tour is the first time Mai has had an opportunity to play ‘Idyllwild’ material to Australian audiences.
Ahead of the tour, Mia has supplied the five songs that help teach her to play music.
Come As You Are - Nirvana
Around 14, I started playing guitar and I’d already been singing for a while. Learning to play and sing at the same time was tricky and Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ was like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time. But once I learned how to play and sing that song, I felt I could learn anything.Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
I learned from listening to this song and watching David Byrne sing in the ‘Stop Making Sense’ concert that you didn’t have to have a ‘perfect’ voice to sing a song or convey an emotion. In fact, his weird high voice and unusual delivery was mesmerising to me. He taught me to be braver and care less about what others think.I Just Wanted To See You So Bad - Lucinda Williams
This song taught me how a very simple idea and a few chords could have a huge effect on me, and maybe I didn’t have to make songs so complicated to feel that they were ‘real’ songs.Willin’ - Little Feat
I loved this song from when I was little, listening to my parent’s record collection. It made me want to be a truck driver. It was one of the first songs Dad taught me on guitar and I learned what the chorus line — ‘weed, whites and wine’ — was all about, and why truck drivers would need to partake to keep moving.Lenny - Stevie Ray Vaughn
I took electric guitar as a subject in high school and I had to learn a bunch of songs to play at my exam. I chose this instrumental by Stevie Ray Vaughn and it pretty much taught me every riff and lick I know on guitar. It was a masterclass in electric guitar melody.Mia Dyson’s national tour starts Wednesday 1st October and runs until 21st November; she also has appearances at the Mullumubimby Music Festival and Meredith Music Festival.
