Bears play the right notes
The Harbour City Bears will this month embark on a new night designed to showcase the singer/songwriter talent of the community.
The Bear Sessions, which will start on Australia Day eve, will feature two award-winning songwriters, Steve Charles and Luciano Mesiti in an evening of acoustic music and original songs at the Supper Club, upstairs at the Oxford Hotel.
“Steve Charles is a veteran of the Australian music industry, having worked with or supported many of the greats, including Marcia Hines, Janis Ian, Ross Wilson and Deborah Conway,” organiser Kerry Bashford said.
“Over his long career, he has released several albums including Old Dog New Trick, Metal Man, Steve Charles, 7 and Ten Years In Tamworth. Charles has been shaking up the Tamworth music scene in recent years, crossing genres from country to folk to jazz and touring constantly, either solo or with his band the Champagne Charlies.
“A prolific songwriter, he is a Music OZ Top Ten and ISC International Song of the Year finalist.”
Bashford said Luciano Mesiti had long been a friend of the Sydney Bear scene.
“What a lot of his mates probably don’t know is that he is an accomplished vocalist and skilled songwriter,” he said.
“He has been performing for 35 years in a career that has taken him all the way to the Sydney Opera House. Mesiti caught the ear of the local industry in recent times with four songs making the finals of the 2011 Australian Songwriters Association Awards.
“Described as a ‘human jukebox’, his set is a mix of pop, folk, blues, with a small amount of operatic style thrown in, and his own material is candid and heartwarming, as you’ll discover on his albums Hold Out Your Hand and It’s About Time.”
As part of this showcase, Charles and Mesiti will premiere some gay-themed material they’ve been saving just for us, some written especially for the evening.
INFO: The Bear Sessions is on Wednesday, January 25 from 9pm at the Supper Club. Tickets $10 members & $15 non-members at www.daisytickets.com or $15/$20 on the door.
