By Hamish Heard
ACCLAIMED Australian singer-songwriter Mark Seymour will headline the first of a series of free concerts in Hobsons Bay this summer.
The former Hunters and Collectors frontman will join local outfit the Mercurials for the first gig of the Summer Sounds series, hosted by Hobsons Bay City Council.
The gig at Commonwealth Reserve will coincide with the council’s Australia Day celebrations.
Hobsons Bay Mayor Bill Baarini said bands appearing on local stages for the Summer Sounds series had been chosen because of their affiliation with the area.
Seymour followed up his 18 years with Hunters and Collectors with a successful solo career that included last year’s release of his fifth solo album, Westgate.
The album pays tribute to the workers and families affected by the 1970 collapse of the West Gate Bridge and is typical of Seymour’s style of lauding the contribution of ordinary Australians.
“These are stories of working people who have suffered and triumphed quietly,” Seymour said of his work.
“We only have to scratch the surface of history to discover that the best of human nature lies in the forgotten tragedies and hidden triumphs, where ordinary people have found dignity and redemption in their own lives.”
The Mercurials were formed three years ago but guitarist Andrew Pendlebury and singer Mark Ferrie had been performing since the 1970s before being joined by cellist Adi Sappir in 2004.
Summer Sounds will include seven concerts across four locations. Other artists to appear during the series include Palorus Jack, Altona-all-Tones, Nash Vegas, Bec Watts, Bomba, Blow It Out Ya Brass, Dan Sultan and Newport Folk and Fiddle Club. The venues are Williamstown’s Commonwealth Reserve, Altona’s Logan Reserve, Newport Lakes Ampitheatre and the Laverton Community Centre.
Mark Seymour and the Mercurials will take the stage at the Commonwealth Reserve at 2pm on Sunday.
