Frontmen rarely come as charismatic as Henry Wagons. A storytelling character and a half, the Melburnian native has returned from the dark desert highways of the US to reunite with his band and bring Wagons' shiny new album to the townspeople.
Seeing music as a joyous occasion rather than a moment to wallow in your sorrows, Wagons' shows are downright shindiggerous in their approach. "'Music is a public activity — the very birth of music was designed to be joined in on,'' Wagons told SMH. ''The first music was played at celebrations. The insular emo songwriter in the bedroom is this recent offshoot of what music is at its core. Music for me is for other people. I write it alone, but with the idea of playing it for other people.''
Wagons have just released their latest single, ‘Beer Barrel Bar’, taken from brand new, sixth studio album Acid Rain and Sugar Cane and nabbing a four-star rating from Rolling Stone. With Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party/Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds) behind the mixing desk and Wagons himself bringing his US-inspired country stomping style to the plate, Acid Rain and Sugar Cane has quite the Nashville twang to it. Best enjoyed with a whiskey in hand and a soulmate far away, the LP is a natural evolution of Wagons' indie country blues into an Ameristralian tavern hootenanny.
WAGONS AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES:
Thurs May 22 – Pirie & Co Social Club, Adelaide
Fri May 23 - Fly By Night, Fremantle
Sat May 31 - Republic Bar, Hobart
Fri June 6 - Barwon Club, Geelong
Sat June 7 - The HiFi, Melbourne
Sun June 8 - Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Thurs June 12 - The Abbey, Canberra
Fri June 13 – Rad (Yours & Owls), Wollongong
Sat June 14 - Factory Theatre, Sydney
Sun June 15 - Lizottes, Newcastle
Fri June 20 - The Zoo, Brisbane
Sat June 21 - Railway Hotel, Darwin
Thanks to Spunk Records, we have three double passes to give away to Wagon's Acid Rain and Sugar Cane tour — one double pass each for the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane shows. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven’t already), then email us with your name and address.
Sydney:
win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.auMelbourne:
win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.auBrisbane:
win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Australian Competitions Club
