In 2023 Australian music icon John Williamson will celebrate his 53d year in the entertainment industry– a remarkable achievement. 2020 and 2021 gave John a forced taste of retirement and the realisation that he’s not quite ready to hang up his guitar. However, 2023 will see John travelling less and performing at fewer and more selective venues and events.
His accolades include induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Australian Roll of Renown, an Order of Australia, 28 Golden Guitar Awards, not to mention over 5 million albums sold, over one billion music streams reached in 2022, thousands of shows performed across the country and a catalogue of over 500 self-penned songs. Few have accomplished so much. In January 2022 John was honoured with a life-sized bronze statue in his image in the main street of Tamworth; a significant reminder of his contribution to our country’s music and the national psyche, long after the last note has been played.
When John Williamson wandered into Melbourne’s GTV9 studios in 1970 with a guitar under his arm, little did the Mallee farmer realise he’d make a 50+-year career out of singing and performing. His performance of ‘Old Man Emu’ (the first song John wrote) on Channel Nine’s New Faces program resulted in a number one single for five weeks and a recording deal. It also marked the appearance of a striking new talent: an unofficial custodian of Australian stories.
When John Williamson wandered into Melbourne’s GTV9 studios in 1970 with a guitar under his arm, little did the Mallee farmer realise he’d make a 50+-year career out of singing and performing. His performance of ‘Old Man Emu’ (the first song John wrote) on Channel Nine’s New Faces program resulted in a number one single for five weeks and a recording deal. It also marked the appearance of a striking new talent: an unofficial custodian of Australian stories.
Few people have travelled this country as extensively as John, gathering his stories from the people he meets and being inspired by the country he loves so much. He encapsulates in song the beauty, wonder and, sometimes, heartbreak of life Down Under. He has produced enduring classics such as ‘Galleries of Pink Galahs’, ‘Three Sons’, ‘A Bushman Can’t Survive’, ‘Cydi’, ‘Raining on the Rock’, ‘Rip Rip Woodchip’, not to mention ‘True Blue’. From boabs to billabongs and snowy mountains to sandy beaches, the Mallee-born songwriter’s 52 albums, including 20 original studio albums have traversed Australia like a dust-covered road train, deftly moving between larrikin humour and touching pathos.
Perhaps John’s greatest legacy is in making Australians proud of their country and of who they are. So, don’t miss out and catch him at a venue somewhere in 2023 before he finally ‘hangs his hat in QLD’ as the song says.
Gates open 5pm
Concert from 6pm
Food and drinks will be available – No BYO Alcohol
Bring a deck chair or picnic rug along!