Clare Bowditch launches her Winter Secrets Tour at Festival of Voices. Image courtesy Festival of Voices.
For ARIA-award winning songstress Clare Bowditch, the launch of her Winter Secrets Tour at this year’s Festival of Voices (FOV) will help trail blaze a new style of interactive, audience engaged performance that is at the core of the festival’s philosophy.
‘In a way that’s what Festival of Voices is really about,’ she said. ‘A lot of my friends have performed there and I have kept a close eye on it over the last year. It’s a really exceptional, nationally important festival.’
Opening 4 July, the 10-day festival, which is also celebrating its 10th year, features some 80 events in venues across Hobart. Before her highly anticipated, Friday 11 July debut appearance at Federation Hall, Bowditch will spend time earlier in the day facilitating a special workshop with participants in which she plans to work through vocal harmonies to feature in the evening concert.
‘They’ll then be a part of the experience from the audience. If you want to be a part of the experience that’s great – if you want to just come for the show that’s great too.’
Bowditch said that touring was always a unique experience. ‘You spend months preparing for what is 60 minutes on stage. It’s an insane equation. You travel all day, you employ an army of people and you’re there for 60 minutes. The joy is that time you get to spend with the audience. I think that audiences forget how imperative their input is to a positive show.’
Drawing from a back-catalogue of seven albums, Bowditch will play a mix of her favourites but also tracks from her latest album, The winter I chose happiness. ‘I don’t get to Tassie that much, so I want to give anyone who comes a good overview of songs over the last few years as well.’
Bowditch said that FOV was important because it helped to break down some stereotypes around the invisible divide of audience and artist.
‘I think there is this myth that artists are somehow special and separate from the audience. I don’t think that’s true. I have been an audience member at hundreds of concerts. I see dozens of concerts each year, and I think that there’s dozens of people who are at least as equally talented,’ she said.
‘What it does is play around with the idea of “special” and if we can all be bothered, we can still be creative – and guess what – it’s kind of fun.’
Clare Bowditch plays at Federation Hall on 11 July at 8pm, launching her Winter Secrets Tour.
The Festival of Voices runs from 4 to 13 July in venues across Hobart.
For tickets and further information visit the Festival of Voices website.
