MEDIA RELEASE – 3 March 2010
In association with the major blockbuster exhibition Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra is hosting Starry Nights.
Beginning this weekend, Starry Nights will be an art-full experience featuring some of Australia’s best musicians playing live and under the stars in the National Gallery of Australia’s Sculpture Garden. Each night features a headline Australian performer:
- Friday 5 March: Renée Geyer
- Saturday 6 March: The Black Sorrows
- Friday 12 March: Clare Bowditch Trio
- Saturday 13 March: Tim Rogers Band
Starry Nights also offers visitors late night viewings of the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition, live music, DJs, art talks, shopping and gourmet food and wine at the new Champagne Pol Roger Sculpture Bar.
Starry Nights is co-presented with the ACT Government through Australian Capital Tourism.
“Starry Nights is another way that people can enjoy the great attractions of Canberra. They can make a night of it and see this incredible exhibition, complemented by some great entertainment from some of Australia’s top performers,” said Jon Stanhope, Chief Minister of the ACT.
“Many visitors to this world-class exhibition have come to Canberra from throughout Australia and beyond. Now, Starry Nights enhances the experiences of art and music and provides many more reasons to visit the nation’s capital in March,” he said.
Visitors to Canberra can plan their trip via www.visitcanberra.com.au/paris, which offers a range of hotel deals, ticket packages and information on what there is to do and see in Canberra.
Tickets for Starry Nights are on sale now at ticketek.com.au.
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
Tickets: ticketek.com.au | $70, $60 members per night (no concessions, includes exhibition entry and 10% discount at the exhibition shop) Exhibition open until 9.00pm.
ARTISTS’ BIOS
Friday 5 March: Renee Geyer
Renée is a powerhouse of Australian music who has been performing her incredible style of rhythm and blues since the early 1970s. Singer, songwriter, producer and author, Renée has performed extensively in Australia and the United States, playing with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sting, Joe Cocker, Chaka Kahn, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown. Renée is one of the few Australian musicians to have made the Australian charts every decade since the 1970s and in 2005 was inducted into the ARIA Wall of Fame.
Saturday, 6 March: Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows
Headed by Joe Camilleri, The Black Sorrows are one of Australia’s most loved bands. Performing a mix of zydeco, rhythm and blues and soul since the early 1980s, The Black Sorrows rose to national prominence in 1988 with their seminal album, “Hold On To Me”, which stayed in the charts for a year, produced three hit singles and sold 250 000 copies in Australia alone. Over one million album sales later, a frequently changing line up and an ARIA award for Best Group, the band is still at the height of their success.
Friday, 12 March: Clare Bowditch Trio
Clare Bowditch is a critically acclaimed, ARIA award winning singer from Melbourne, who began song writing at the age of three. She is renowned for her sweet folk-pop style. Since the commercial and critical success of her second album, “What was left”, played extensively on Triple J, Bowditch has performed across Australia and at nearly every major Australian music festival. In 2008 she was runner up in the International Song-writing Competition. Clare now splits her time between Australia and Berlin and is about to launch her much anticipated fourth album, which includes the new single “The Start of War” that she co-produced with Mick Harvey from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Saturday, 13 March: Tim Rogers Band
Tim Rogers, singer, songwriter and producer, has been a consummate performer on the Australian music scene since his band grunge rock band, You AM I, exploded onto the 90s music scene with three albums debuting at number one. Rogers received the award for Best Male Artist for his solo album, “What Rhymes With Cars and Girls”, the album demonstrating Rogers musical diversity with its laid back, acoustic sound. As frontman for You AM I, Rogers created songs for the soundtracks of Dirty Deeds and Quentin Tarantino’s Idiot Box and more recently worked on two new albums with fellow musician Tex Perkins.