Australia’s finest female soul voices unite to bring their soul party to the Peninsula. Starring Rita Satch, Chelsea Wilson, May Johnston (Deep Street Soul), Lisa Faithfull (Soul Safari) and Carla Troiano (Mayfield).
2015 has been a massive year for Women of Soul with sell out appearances at Melbourne Recital Centre’s Summersault Festival, Stonnington Jazz Festival, Darebin Music Feast, Meeniyan Town Hall and The Shadow Electric. Their debut collaborative album “Women of Soul” featuring 11 Melbourne based soul vocalists was featured nationally on ABC Radio National, PBS, RRR and Eastside Radio and nominated for Best Soul album of 2015 at The Age Music Victoria Awards. Recently the girls officially opened Fed Sq’s Summer Music series as part of Melbourne Music Week to a huge city audience.
About Women of Soul:
The Women of Soul series celebrates the extraordinary sounds of the Melbourne soul scene, as performed by some of the most beloved female vocalists and songwriters. In celebration of five years of collaborative live shows, the vocalists recently released their debut compilation, “Melbourne’s Women of Soul”, comprising ten new tracks recorded exclusively for the album. Curated by Chelsea Wilson (Music Manager PBS 106.7FM/ Broadcaster / Vocalist) and produced by award winning producer Jake Mason (Cookin’ on 3 Burners), the album presents a range of genres including funk, neo, garage and northern, reflective of the sound of Melbourne soul. This album followed the ladies’ debut single, “Woman Got Soul”, released on International Women’s Day to raise funds for the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria.
About the Vocalists:
May Johnston The powerhouse voice of hard-hitting Hammond funk outfit Deep Street Soul May Johnston is known for her supercharged high-energy performances. Signed to iconic UK label Freestyle Records, Deep Street Soul’s second album Look Out Watch Out featured May’s snappy co-writing skills for the first time, scoring the band a coveted slot at Glastonbury, St Paul’s Jazz Festival in France and a spot on Craig Charles’ Funk & Soul Club (BBC) compilation album. Her live show embodies the essence of an original funk revue with showmanship reminiscent of James Brown or Tina Turner with a voice that can be as raw as Betty Davis or as smooth as Sarah Vaughn.
Rita Satch Classically trained violinist, vocalist and songwriter Rita Satch seamlessly moved from the jazz world to the soul scene with her self-titled EP in 2014. Produced by Ryan Ritchie of The Raah Project, the record embodies an effortless modern-soul sound, showcasing Rita’s carefully constructed compositions and refined vocal delivery. Her lyrics scream of pain, heartbreak and jealously but her vocals are almost nonchalant at times, giving her a cutting emotional edge that is simply captivating. After her recent tour throughout the UK and France including an appearance at Glastonbury festival and support set for Kate Nash , Rita recently won #1 in the Unsigned International Songwriters award for her single “Not Ready For Love”
Chelsea Wilson is a Melbourne based soul vocalist, songwriter, DJ and broadcaster (PBS 106.7FM). Her debut album “I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me” was declared #2 Album of the Year on ABC Radio National and nominated for Best Soul Album of the Year at The Age Music Victoria Awards. Over two years in the making, the album features an incredible list of musicians including Lance Ferguson (The Bamboos) on guitar, Jake Mason (Cookin’ on 3 Burners) on keys and Lucas Taranto on bass (Gotye). Chelsea recently supported Macy Gray on her Australian tour, headlined the Arts Centre Stage at the Australasian World Music Expo, opened the 2015 Stonnington Jazz Festival and made her UK debut at Glastonbury Festival UK in 2015.
Lisa Faithfull is the impressive front woman of funk outfit Soul Safari. Her larger than life personality pours through her powerful voice and commanding stage presence which has gained her performance slots on festivals such as Soul Festival alongside Mary J Blige and Lauryn Hill. Her voice can channel the rough gutsy sound of Janis Joplin and Etta James, yet can also be as innocent as a young Aretha Franklin – all sometimes within the same song. Her youthful energy radiates so much joy her live shows feel like a celebration, even when she is singing about social justice and street life.
To cap off an amazing run of shows Women of Soul will head to the Peninsula for one show only Friday December 4. Backed by an all-star band made up of members of Gotye, Deep St Soul and Cookin’ on 3 Burners, their high energy performance is guaranteed to get you on the dance floor. Get ready to shake and shimmy to hard hitting funk, sweet soul and deep rhythm and blues for two powerhouse sets.
WOS @ Grand Hotel
Friday 4th December 8pm
124 Main Street, Mornington
Tickets from $20