FOLLOWING a highly successful Irish tour last July, renowned Australian guitarist Jeff Lang returns to Irish shores for a series of six performances before embarking on an eight-date UK tour. The ARIA-nominated performer returns to Limerick for an intimate performance upstairs at Dolan’s on May 17.
The tour, borrowing its name from his latest album, ‘Half Seas Over’, which was released to great acclaim last year through ABC Music / Warner featuring the songs ‘Copper Mine’, ‘The Savannah Way’ and ‘The Vaults Of Lattanzo’ amongst nine other fantastic tracks. Blending rock, roots, folk, blues, ballads, instrumentals, improvisations and a devastatingly high level of musicality, Jeff Lang is “a singularly unique performer in our world”. Over the past ten years, he has built an international reputation and loyal fan base with constant touring in the US, Europe and Australia. He is a favourite on the festival circuit and has enjoyed national airplay, rave reviews, multiple ARIA nominations and the respect of his peers around the world, touring with the likes of Bob Dylan, Ani Di Franco, Dr John, Loudon Wainwright III and countless others.
Long acclaimed as a superbly gifted guitarist, Lang is now gaining recognition as a master songwriter. “If there’s a craft involved”, says Lang, “it’s that I’m getting better at recognising when that moment of inspiration is taking hold. If you don’t act on it immediately, it’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle.”
Inspired by a diverse set of influences, from John Fahey and Richard Thompson to Chris Whitley and Devendra Banhart, from Dock Boggs and Skip James to Dylan and AC/DC, Jeff Lang has created a contemporary classic in the shape of Half Seas Over. Lang’s original compositions, together with a couple of traditional folk songs, testify to the power of music and story to stir our souls and awaken hidden stores of meaning. In Lang’s hands, the ordinary becomes an enchanted space; everyday and domestic tales reveal themselves with heroic dimensions and tragic consequences. And his songwriting mastery can be seen in the smallest details from the wiry whiskers on an old lady’s chin to a dress clinging to a barmaid’s body in the small town heat.
Arranged with the utmost simplicity, the duo format of Lang’s superb guitar accompanied by Grant Cummerford’s deft bass playing allows the stories of Half Seas Over to be delivered in their utmost power. As the quiet intensity of their playing builds, driven by the relentless pace of each story, the duo paint indelible pictures. Melbourne native Grant Cumerford, a renowned bass guitarist, will accompany Lang on stage.
