It is with the greatest of pleasure that we announce the return of Jimmy Webb to our shores for two exclusive shows. The legendary songwriter (“Wichita Lineman”, “MacArthur Park”, “Up, Up and Away”) with an evolving career spanning genres and generations, will perform his songs in a live collaboration with Australian friends. Joining him on stage for these spectacular shows will be some of our greatest artists: Jimmy Barnes, David Campbell, Kate Ceberano, Ed Kuepper and Ian Moss – they’ll be backed by an orchestra along with some of the country’s finest musicians.
Last year’s Australian tour, An Evening with Jimmy Webb, saw sold out shows around the country – his fans turned up to packed halls to honor the scale of his musical and lyrical output. Webb charmed his audiences with his songs and wonderful anecdotes of an extraordinary life, as only a genuine master of his craft can. Says Jimmy of his return visit “Australia with its vast shorelines, ferry boats and natural wonders has always been my favourite place to play. Now to perform live with Australia’s most popular rock and pop stars – and orchestra – I am blown away. I am honoured, and we are going to pull out all of the stops for the audience!”
The multiple Grammy-winning songwriter has topped the charts: from pop to country to disco numerous times with interpretations by some of the industry’s greatest. He’s worked with Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, and too many others to name. Jimmy’s been covered by everyone from Guns n’ Roses to Josh Groban to Little Big Town. Since Webb’s Grammy sweep in 1968 when his own “Up, Up and Away” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” vied for Song of the Year (and “Up” won), to the use of his “Do What You Gotta Do” in Kanye West’s “Famous,” the man often praised as “America’s Songwriter” remains an icon in popular music – and continues to challenge his artistic boundaries with projects like a classical nocturne. His most famous songs are touchstones for a generation yet remain timeless – “MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Worst That Could Happen,” and “Galveston.” His memoir, The Cake and the Rain, The Wall Street Journal (USA) described as “quite possibly the best pop-star autobiography yet written.”
AMERICA’S GREATEST SONGWRITER:
Jimmy Webb
AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST MUSICIANS:
Jimmy Barnes, David Campbell, Kate Ceberano, Ed Kuepper & Ian Moss
Live on stage for two shows only – Sydney & Melbourne.
Do not miss out – tickets will sell fast.
Tickets on sale Thursday 3rd May
For full concert information, please visit:
JIMMY WEBB & FRIENDS
AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2018
Sunday 5th August
State Theatre, Sydney
Tickets available at:
Thursday 9th August
Hamer Hall, Melbourne
Tickets available at:
About Jimmy Webb:
Jimmy Webb’s numerous accolades include the prestigious Ivor Novella International Award (2012) and the Academy of Country Music’s Poet Award (2016). Webb was named in the top 50 of Rolling Stone’s 2015 “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.” He received his first gold record at the age of 18, was the youngest inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (which he later chaired). He is the only artist to ever receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. Webb’s first book, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting, is considered a “bible” among professional musicians and college students. He has time and again paved the way for songwriters in the ever-changing media landscape, pioneering commercial use of pop songs (“Up, Up and Away” as the centerpiece of the 1970 Trans World Airlines campaign) and spearheading the ongoing effort to preserve the rights of songwriters and their intellectual property rights in the world of free downloads with his ongoing work for nearly 20 years on the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
Webb has released ten solo albums since the 1970s, while continuing to write for other artists. His CD Just Across the River features duets on some of his biggest songs with friends Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, JD Souther, Glen Campbell, Lucinda Williams, Michael McDonald and Mark Knopfler. A follow up, Still Within the Sound of My Voice, features Brian Wilson, Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Lyle Lovett, Carly Simon, Keith Urban, and more.
In October 2016 Webb premiered his first classical piece, “Nocturne for Piano and Orchestra (Nocturne for “Lefty”)” with Orchestra Kentucky. His brilliantly written memoir, The Cake and the Rain (St. Martin’s Press, April 2017) brings Webb’s unique career into focus, written with the same sense of poetry and story as his many hits. For more, visit www.jimmywebb.com
