Trevor Hall’s engaging live performance won over Australian blues and folk fans in 2017 at Bluesfest, and he’ll return next year with another refreshing set for the festival’s 30th anniversary. Before he takes to the famed stage that celebrates rock, blues and everything in between, Hall will visit Melbourne to play the Corner Hotel on April 18.
Focusing on inclusive spirituality and emotional healing, Hall’s live performances often take on a religious or meditative quality. He skilfully blends folk, rock and reggae with references to divinities and the use of Sanskrit – the sacred language of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. This spirituality extends beyond the stage, when Hall makes his annual pilgrimage to India to support children living below the poverty line.
The American artist also puts a lot of faith and power in the hands of his fans. Rather than releasing his 2017 album The Fruitful Darkness through a record label, Hall enlisted his fans (whom he calls ‘the villagers’) to contribute to its independent release over the course of a year through his Kickstarter online campaign.
The villagers will be listening out for album favourites like the gently echoing ‘My Heart, Your Heart’ and the rolling ‘What I know’ when Hall arrives in Australia in 2019.