By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
MONTROSE Town Centre will come alive with pure Australiana for one night only when Neil Murray and Matt Walker take to the stage on Saturday 10 October.
Neil Murray is best-known for bringing contemporary indigenous music into the fore with the Warumpi Band and is the writer behind Australia’s unofficial anthem, ‘My Island Home’.
A Yarra Ranges local, Matt Walker has earned a global reputation for his creative talents and has been awarded an ARIA award for his work.
He has been credited on countless albums and film scores, even being described by Jeff Lang as “an incredible instrumentalist with a soulful and individual singing style.”
The duo has decided to pair up for a night of music that will include solo and combined performances from both musicians.
They first played together at a gig in Sydney and decided they both liked each other’s styles so much that doing a show together came very naturally.
“We only recently crossed paths when we did a show in Sydney, although I’ve been crossing paths with Neil’s music for 20 years and I’ve been a fan for a while,” Matt Walker said.
“It just seemed like a good thing to do to play more together.”
Neil Murray said he was keen to spend some time in the Yarra Ranges with Mr Walker and to collaborate on a musical adventure.
“I’m looking forward to spending some time with Matt and I feel he’s one of those musicians to give me a bit of inspiration,” he said.
“You can get a bit stale on your own and it’s great to seek to play with different people and get different input – Matt is that for me.”
This unique collaboration of local icons will see the exploration of quintessential Australian songwriting and musical culture.
While neither musician has said they have plans to record their collaboration, the idea of working together on future projects is not off the table either.
“Playing solo lets me stretch out a bit and having Neil there as well will be great,” Matt Walker said.
“I love his playing – it’ll be great to see what angle he comes from and it’ll definitely be adding to what I’m doing.”
Tickets for the night are available for purchase through the Yarra Ranges Shire Council at $20 for concession and $25 full price.
