Independent blues and soul singer-songwriter Shaun Kirk is amped to play next month's Blues On Broadbeach event on the Gold Coast.
“I love the free entry vibe about it all, it means that people who probably can’t afford to get to the bigger festivals can come and check this one out,” says the Blues On Broadbeach regular.
Plus, for the 29-year-old, Melbourne-based artist, there’s the added incentive of sharing a bill with local and international blues stars such as Ash Grunwald and Robert Cray. “I caught Robert Cray at Bluesfest [Byron Bay] a few years back and he almost sounds too good… all his tones and everything is just perfect,” Shaun says.
Another incentive of playing free festivals is being in front of a new audience. “You usually sell quite a lot of CDs… that helps me pay my bills which is great,” the artist jokes.
Earlier this year, Shaun released his latest single, ‘Howlin’ At The Moon’, his first release in nearly four years. He says he has been doing “a lot of soul searching” since the collapse of an American record deal and years of "crazy" touring that the song reflects.
Now that everything is back on track, Shaun says it’s time to slow things down. “I’ve been really working on the songwriting aspect of what I do. For so many years, I sort of toured like a crazy man and I thought it was important to step back for a while and hone my craft.
“I’ve got a little studio out the back of my house now, so I’ve been spending a lot of hours in there working with different tones and songwriting techniques.”
‘Howlin’ At the Moon’ is a songwriting collaboration with Eskimo Joe guitarist Joel Quartermain. Shaun says collaboration is something that he has become more and more interested in of late.
Along with collaboration, Shaun says he has been changing the nature of his song's themes in recent years. After focusing on social activism through his lyrics, Shaun is now interested in “delivering messages more subtly”.
“I’m definitely keen on the social side of things, but I think it’s a narrow road to go down. I think you can only get so many songs from that.”
Now the musician is attempting to focus on personal stories and character writing. “A lot of it is inspired by people that I’ve met along the way. I’ve obviously met a lot of characters driving around the country and playing at late-night venues and stuff like that.”
With a bunch of regional shows upcoming alongside his appearance at Blues On Broadbeach, Shaun will continue to play his new songs on stage. “I’m really passionate about the new stuff and I’ve been playing it at shows and it has been connecting really well which is really, really exciting.”
Shaun Kirk Tour 2018
Fri 20 Apr - Bison Bar (Sunshine Coast)Sat 21 Apr - The Milk Factory (Brisbane)
Sun 22 Apr - Hotel Brunswick (Brunswick Heads)
Fri 27 Apr - The Wheatsheaf Hotel (Adelaide)
Sat 28 Apr - Jamieson Autumn Festival
Wed 2 May - Bank Coffee House & Wine Bar (Warragul)
Thu 3 May - Jack Greene (Hobart)
Fri 4 May - The Skylark Room (Melbourne)
Sat 5 May - Narara Music Festival @ Mt Penang Gardens (Kariong)
Fri 11 May - The Gasometer Hotel (Melbourne)
Sat 12 May - Baby Black Cafe (Bacchus Marsh)
17-20 May - Blues On Broadbeach Festival (Gold Coast)
Sun 10 Jun - Howling Moon Festival (Port Macquarie)
