Tim’s joined the stellar line-up of artists for MUSIC FROM THE HOME FRONT this Saturday 25th April, 2020.
The programme will air in Australia and New Zealand only but footage of Tim’s performance will be available here after the event – we’ll let you know via social media.
Australia: 7.30PM LOCAL – NINE (and 9NOW 7.30pm AEST)
Australian Hip Hop pioneer, writer and actor BRIGGS has teamed up with Tim to record ‘HOUSEFYRE’ and to film the video from the splendid isolation of their own homes.
Sales and streams of this song are being donated to the #FNC19Appeal here.
Briggs: “Cabin fever manifests in strange ways and while I’ve been stuck at home working on new music and practising good social distancing, the idea came to me to hit up my friend Tim Minchin to work on a fun idea. Black and red together hasn’t looked this good since the ’93 grand final.”
Tim: “I’ve been wanting to do something with Briggs for years but couldn’t work out what idea to go to him with. Then a few days ago, he sent a track over and asked if I’d wanna write a chorus for it. I think my exact words were “fuck yeah”. So much fun to make, and such a buzz to work with the Senator.”
Starring: Briggs and Tim Minchin
Director / Editor: Christiaan Van Vuuren
Graphics and VFX: Alex Gabbott
Music and Lyrics: Briggs, Tim Minchin & Trials
-Lyrics-
Da-dup da-dup oh
Come, little baby, shelter from the storm
We’re goin’ viral & the fire is warm
Keepin’ calm, carryin’ on, Scotty’s latest presser is depressin’
So we’re tuning in to this approved message from the Senator: (more…)
UPDATED 09/09/20
Due to the recent announcements by the Australian Government Tim’s BACK Encore Tour of Australia has been rescheduled. Visit Live Nation for more information
Here are the new show dates in June and July 2021:
This short film about how Tee Ken made the extraordinary Leaving LA music video is almost more fun than the video itself. I find it absolutely fascinating and extremely cool, and I reckon you will too. Next up: a film about the making of the “making of” film. Lol
My upcoming shows in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne & Brisbane are being postponed. We’ve no real choice, I’m afraid.
I’m gutted for my audiences who have saved & travelled. And for my band & crew who lose work. And for the venues & promoter. And for myself, cos I HATE not delivering.
We are hustling to reschedule. The ticket agency will be emailing on Monday to confirm the postponement, & though I don’t know if we’ll have new dates by then, please know we are trying our hardest!
Lots of love. Don’t panic, wash ya hands,
And don’t take ya sniffle to your Gran’s.
I heartily suggest you watch this on a reasonable sized screen with some lovely headphones / speakers and the volume turned up to 9. My producer, Mr Daniel Denholm, has done a beautiful job with the audio, and the wondrous Tee Ken Ng has made a film unlike anything you have seen.
(UPDATE: You can now watch The Making of Leaving LAon YouTube or below).
Tim’s releasing his long-awaited debut album later this year, through BMG.
He’s signed an exclusive global label deal with BMG and ‘Leaving LA’, the first single from the album, will be released on March 13th.
Tim said: “I’ve been writing songs for 35 years, and have never released a studio album. Too many distractions. Signing with BMG has given me focus, and the confidence to aim for a record that isn’t defined by anyone else’s expectations. I’m loving the freedom, loving the process, and loving the team at BMG. They’re cool and nice”. (more…)
As many of you know, in 2019 our BACK tour generated over three quarters of a million dollars for charities in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The beneficiaries included family & adoption services, mental health support, domestic violence shelters, music programs for underprivileged kids, and refugee support organisations.
For the 2020 encore tour, I’ve decided to donate exclusively to independent theatres. Yay. Ongoing cuts to the arts sector by our incumbent conservative federal government have hit small-to-medium arts organisations hard. I feel strongly that independent theatre is vital to the cultural health of our country. Not only because these groups produce fantastic work in their own right, but because independent theatre is the breeding ground of future mainstream artists. The huge cultural and economic impact of a big commercial show like Matilda the Musical (to choose just one close-to-home example) would not exist without the independent theatres that let Dennis Kelly and I get our hands dirty in the early days.
Below is a list of the fantastic companies we are supporting.
All of this is possible because of my generous audience members who buy the highly inflated “VIP charity seats” we sell for each show. We are also supported in our mission by Live Nation, Ticketek, APRA and the venues we play in, who all have agreed again to waive their fees on the charity tickets.
For the rest of you reading this: go see a play at an independent theatre near you! There’s so much great stuff out there, and it’s often really affordable!
Love.
T
Hobart
Tasmania Performs
Tasmania Performs maximises opportunities for artists, ensuring their diverse voices and stories are shared across the world. With a recent focus on supporting the careers of the island’s palalwa artists.
Donations from the Hobart concerts have helped leverage a significant investment from both the State and Federal governments for a new First Nations children’s work that will tour Australia in 2021.
At each of his concerts Tim shares a portion of the profits with a local not-for-profit organisation. This year he’s donating to independent theatre companies. As the Adelaide Festival’s 60th anniversary concert is a free event, Tim’s offering a special limited edition Tim Minchin/PATCH Tote Bag. You can pick one up from the merchandise tent and take it to the supermarket…help rid the world of plastic… you know how it goes.
The bags are $20 each with all proceeds going to Patch Theatre Company and their reimagined style of design rich theatrical experiences that put children and their curiosity first.
This Tote Bag will ONLY be available for sale on Saturday between 5pm (when doors open) and 10pm (the end of concert).
Patch’s latest performance – The Lighthouse –“part installation, part scientific quest, part rave.” is on at the Queen’s Theatre, Adelaide, 25th February – 7th March 2020 and is suitable for all ages.
Tim wrote ‘Carry You’ for the television series UPRIGHT. Co-written and starring Tim, UPRIGHT follows two misfits thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert, as they forge an unlikely bond in their quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other. Tim asked Missy Higgins to record the song, in her distinctive style, for the closing credits. UPRIGHT is available in Australia on FOXTEL, on NOW TV in the UK and on Super Channel Fuse for viewers in Canada. More details and a teaser here.
Tim has been honoured with the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the performing arts, and to the community, on the 2020 Australia Day Honours list.
Quoted in The Standard, Tim said: “I found it a genuinely – though the word makes me squirm – humbling experience.” Speaking of the “quiet achievers”, the people whose names are not well known, he added: “People from different backgrounds working in different fields being acknowledged for doing extraordinary things. It’s truly an honour to be amongst them,”
The full list of Australia Day Honours 2020 recipients can be found here.
#honours2020
UPDATE 03/02/20: ABC News have just released this video of Tim talking about being recognised in the Australia Day Honours:
Here, finally, is the promised release of Carry You. It is the version from the credits of the final episode of UPRIGHT, performed by the completely frickin wonderful Missy Higgins. Man, I love her voice. (Actually, I love her in general). It’s produced by Sarah and Richie Belkner. Other credits and details below. Hope you like it as much as I do. Xx
Stream/download: MissyHiggins.lnk.to/CarryYou
On sale 12am January 24th (local time) in each territory worldwide.
UPDATE (04/02/20): For those who’ve been asking; ‘Carry You’ is now available everywhere. Links to Apple Music, iTunes & Amazon Music have been added and it can be found for download on Amazon too.
‘Carry You’ – Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin
Vocals – Missy Higgins
Piano/Rhodes/Synths – Sarah Belkner
Drums – Evan Mannell
Flugelhorn – Dane Laboyrie
Produced by: Sarah Belkner & Richard Belkner
Recorded by: Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device Studios, Sydney & Richard Stolz at Woodstock Studios, Melbourne
Mixed By: Richard Belkner
Mastered By: Michael Lynch
This will be of interest to a fairly niche (but incredibly tasteful and intelligent) audience of theatre nerds.
Hal Leonard have published a pretty damn comprehensive Groundhog Day songbook, which you can buy here.
At the front of the book is a bit of an essay I wrote reflecting on the musical and existential themes in the score, and I thought I’d publish it here for you to read! It’s kind of rambling (in a charming way, I hope), and I think it might be meaningful to those of you who loved the musical, and to anyone interested in the craft of musical story-telling. There’s also a second little essay about the unenviable job of transcribing my work, by the brilliant Laurie Perkins. I’ll pop that down the bottom.
By the way, I think the physical book is a thing of beauty and a lovely souvenir, even if you’re not a player. (Note: there are chords for lazy buggers like me who can’t read dots!)
Enjoy.
xTim
FOREWORD
Writing this musical with Danny Rubin, Matthew Warchus and Chris Nightingale was a joyous, existential adventure. There was so much that made my brain fizz when I first started to think about how we might put Groundhog Day on a stage.
First, I was inspired by the simple, poetic idea of a life being reflected in a day. Our musical leans on this metaphor, opening in the pre-dawn with a song which itself starts with a birth. The idea of being born at “sunrise on a sunless day” suggests a dark day, a portent of the struggle we’re about to witness. But in that opening song, there is already an answer for Phil Connors, had he the wisdom to listen. The lyrics, like the town itself, are simple and pretty and folksy, but remind us that human happiness requires a level of acquiescence, an understanding that we are not all-powerful, and that despite our desire to “will the clouds away,” only time will reveal the sun. (more…)
Tim wrote an essay for the book “reflecting on the musical and existential themes in the score.” You can read Tim’s foreword here.
15 songs from Tim’s award winning musical are featured in the selection:
Overture
There Will Be Sun
Small Town USA [Day One]
Punxsutawney Phil
Rita’s Diary
Small Town USA [Day Two]
Stuck
Nobody Cares
One Day
Playing Nancy
Hope
Everything About You
If I Had My Time Again
Night Will Come
Seeing You
This coming Sunday, 8th December, Tim’ll be seated behind the desk on The Project on Channel 10.
The show airs at 6:30pm, and he’ll be joining hosts and regular panellists Tommy Little, Hamish MacDonald, Lisa Wilkinson and Susie Youssef as they dissect and give their unique take on the day’s news.
If you’re unable to watch live at the allotted time, fear not, the show will be available afterwards on The Project’s webpage.
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