In the immense treasure trove of beloved Australian artists, singer-songwriter Wendy Matthews is a remarkable jewel.
Canadian-born, Wendy has been a constant of Australian music since Glenn Shorrock invited her to tour with him here in 1982.
She boasts a catalogue of hits such as ‘The Day You Went Away’ and ‘Friday’s Child’, among many others, and in June she’ll be sharing them with audiences at the Sunshine Rock & Blues Festival on the Sunshine Coast. “I love these festivals,” Wendy says.
“They’re outdoors, you can bring blankets, they’re family-oriented and they’re just lovely things to do. When I’m not working the last thing I feel like doing is heading out to a club to hear music to be honest,” she laughs.
“So an outdoor setting where you can go on your own time and enjoy good music is a nice thing to do; it’s the sort of thing I’d do. It’s my favourite sort of venue these days; I really love the festivals that are going on. I’m doing a bit of festival-hopping, so I’m happy these days.”
Wendy goes on to say that the proliferation of smaller, more manageable boutique festivals like Sunshine Rock has provided artists like her as well as emerging local acts, greater access to live performance opportunities. “It’s opening up places to play for us artists too,” she says, praising the positive impact of such events.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody, plus it’s an avenue for local bands too and the more places that we can all play is just a plus.”
Joining Wendy on the Sunshine Rock line-up are established favourites such as Jon Stevens, Black Sorrows and Richard Clapton, as well as Ash Grunwald, guitar goddess Lecia Louise, Mason rack band and more.
As a veteran of both extensive national and international touring, Wendy has made plenty of friends along the way and says these festivals have been a great way to reconnect with old colleagues, and make also some new ones.
“I’ve been doing a lot of these [festivals] for maybe the past four years they’ve really been multiplying. Grace Knight and I have become great friends because The Eurogliders and I do a lot of gigs together.
"We love it too; we get to catch up and have fun backstage as well as on-stage, so it’s a really nice way to sit down and catch up with old friends as well.”
Sunshine Rock crowds will get to see and hear Wendy sing all of her classic hits, plus some new ones, all backed by a full band.
“I’ve got a band that I’ve had for years and years,” she says.
“My guitar player has been with me since Absent Friends days, which was another lifetime ago so we know each other really well. We love when we get together these days.
"So it’s a full band and it’s my older catalogue and a few new ones; hopefully there will be lots of songs people will know and be able to help us out with, and a few newies.”
Wendy Matthews Tour Dates 2018
Sat 5 May - Day On The Plain (Jimbour)Sat 19 May - Mix FM Live (Sunshine Coast)
Sun 24 Jun - Sunshine Rock & Blues Festival (Sunshine Coast)
'Both Sides Now: Celebrating The Songs Of Joni Mitchell' Tour 2018
Sun 15 Jul - Sydney Opera HouseTue 17 Jul - Arts Centre Melbourne
Wed 18 Jul - QPAC (Brisbane)
