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| Beth Hart returns to Australia in April 2015 Force-of-nature blues/rock vocalist, singer-songwriter, BluesFest favourite and Grammy Award nominee takes the stage on Thursday 2 April 2015. Beth Hart's story is one of incredible highs and grueling lows. In the late 1990s she was on the cusp of a promising music career and signed to a major US recording label with a swag of hit singles. But it was at the peak of her music career that her drug and alcohol addiction took hold, derailing her chart-topping success and sending her on a rollercoaster ride of personal and professional challenges. Fast forward a few years later and Hart overcame her demons, married her road manager and crafted her comeback. "I never thought I'd be a singer" she says, "I thought I'd be a classical pianist or cellist. I took opera lessons and my teacher was wonderful, but one day she said, 'Beth, I don't think classical is for you' and she was right." From the realms of classical Beth became enamoured with the genres of jazz, rock, blues, gospel and grunge. "Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald: I'm fascinated by them… and when I heard Robert Plant and Chris Cornell, I couldn't get over their power. And Rickie Lee Jones and James Taylor, their voices were so lovely and soft". Beth's tenacity and soaring talent has attracted collaborations with Jeff Beck, ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and acclaimed blues veteran Joe Bonamassa. Her 2013 show-stopping performance at the Kennedy Centre with Jeff Beck which celebrated blues great Buddy Guy earned her a standing ovation and her recent collaborations with Joe Bonamassa has seen her nominated for a Grammy and a Blues Award. Hart's chance meeting with Joe Bonamassa in a hotel lobby changed her musical trajectory, joining Bonamassa on the Kevin Shirley-produced soul-rock covers album Don't Explain (2011). Following the success of Don't Explain, Bonamassa and Hart reunited earlier this year for the album Seesaw, which debut at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart, saw them embark on a European tour and release the Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa: Live In Amsterdam DVD/CD pack. In 2013, after the North American release of her latest record Bang Bang Boom Boom, Australia was finally introduced to Hart's powerhouse live performances at BluesFest's 25th Anniversary celebration, where Festival Director Peter Noble labelled her as one of his top picks of the festival. Hart returns to Australia in April 2015 for BluesFest and a string of hotly anticipated sideshows including an intimate show at Melbourne Recital Centre. MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE PRESENTS: BETH HART Thursday 2 April, 2015 Elisabeth Murdoch Hall Melbourne Recital Centre write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Jazz News :: home page |