Katie Noonan: Announces New Album "Songbook" & National Tour
Spanning her career to date, Songbook sees Katie Noonan lie intimate, acoustic, re-imaginings of her most-loved songs over lush string arrangements. A limited release through Katie’s website and iTunes, the Songbook album is launched in conjunction with an actual song book featuring sheet music (for the first time ever), rare photographs and the stories behind the songs.
According to Katie, Songbook explores “the last 15 years of my life. It has been really interesting going through these works and seeing my evolution as a musician; my journey from a girl to a young woman to a wife and mother.”
In Songbook, Katie revisits moments that speak less about her career and more about her life and loves. ‘Spawn’ was written by “a 19-year-old girl facing the world and confronting the loss of innocence”; elsewhere, ‘Special Ones’ speaks of “self-respect and empowerment” while ‘Love’s My Song For You’ is a tribute to “then boyfriend, now husband and soul mate Zac,” father of Katie’s sons.
Events inspiring the album’s most passionate moments mark times where words on their own weren’t enough, says Noonan. ‘Time’ was written for “dear friends as they processed their profound grief” at the devastating loss of their child, while ‘Emperor’s Box’ embraces Katie’s “beautiful dad Brian and my stoic mum Maggie as they faced his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease with incredible strength and grace.”
The Songbook tour will show Katie at her most personal and sublime, with each song's origin and inspiration explored onstage. Fans will delve deeper into the songs they know and understand the background stories that accompany the sheet music in a signature Songbook book of memories.
As Katie writes in the book’s opening pages: “I feel incredibly blessed to be a musician - I really hope you enjoy playing these songs and thank you for taking the time to discover my musical world.”
Katie Noonan
Katie Noonan possesses one of the most loved, recognisable, and angelic voices in Australia; those who have seen her perform live know the warmth and depth she conveys vocally is mirrored in her on-stage storytelling. A mother, wife, singer, producer, songwriter, pianist and business woman, the 4 x ARIA Award winning and 6 x platinum selling artist first received widespread praise as the versatile and striking songstress of indie-pop band george and has since taken audiences on sublime excursions through jazz, pop and classical music.
Her folk trio Elixir — featuring the Katie’s saxophonist husband Zac Hurren (winner of the National Jazz Award 2009) and Steven Magnusson, regarded by many as Australia’s finest jazz guitarist — released an eponymous album and a highly anticipated follow up in First Seed Ripening (which spent over 13 weeks at Number 1 on the Australian Jazz Charts and won the ARIA award for best Jazz Album 2011.)
There was the No. 1 selling classical album Two Of A Kind with her mother Maggie; Katie’s gold-selling top ten solo album Skin, and the acclaimed Songs of the Southern Skies with classical guitarist Karin Schaupp, which featured an incredible number of Australia and New Zealand’s music luminaries including Iva Davies, Gurrumul, Maori diva Whirimako Black, Sydney Symphony oboist Diana Doherty, young members of Brisbane’s Voices of Birralee, Clare Bowditch and The Living End’s Chris Cheney.
Katie has also worked with the country’s top orchestras (including her fruitful collaboration with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra) and musicians (revered pianist Paul Grabowsky and iconic jazz players including Joe Lovano, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash and John Scofield); the latter group helping to create ARIA-award winning albums Before Time Could Change Us and Blackbird.
As well there was the 2010 release of the widely-acclaimed Emperor’s Box with her band The Captains, yet another showcase for Katie’s trademark stories, where she shared co-writing credits with Tim Finn, Don Walker, Sia Furler, Josh Pyke, Tom Shapcott and her fellow ‘Captains’, as well as co-production credits for Katie and Grammy award winning producer Nick Didia.
Praise For Katie
‘Heralded as one of the greatest all time Australian talents, Katie Noonan is an absolute must see.’
‘A treasure well worth discovering.’
Marie Claire
‘With a voice that could level suburbs, and the technique to match, Noonan has somehow managed to avoid serious chart success by writing music too smart for the average FM listeners ears… realistically Katie can do anything. She’s the bolt blocking the carbon copy machine from pumping out more clones.’
Brag Magazine
‘Her ability to breathe life into each ethereal melody reveals years of classical training and affirms the Australian public’s admiration of her.’
Colosoul.com.au
‘Katie Noonan is arguably Australia’s greatest music superwoman. You name ’em and she’s probably collab’d with ’em. Pick a style and chances are she’s nailed it and nabbed an ARIA along the way.’
BMA Magazine
‘Noonan takes everyone on a vocal and lyrical journey. She feels every lyric and doesn’t hide her preparation in belting out these almost superhuman notes that have the crowd shaking their head in disbelief.’
Drum Media
Katie Noonan’s Songbook
USA Tour Dates
Wed 27 Feb – Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Thu 28 Feb - Rockwood Music Hall, New York, USA
Sat 2 Mar - Room 5, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Australian Tour Dates
Thu 7 Mar, Garden Of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide Fringe Festival, SA
Below with Special Guest Brian Campeau
Sat 6 Apr - Old Museum - Concert Hall, Brisbane, QLD
With string quartet
Thu 11 Apr - Heritage Hotel , Bulli, NSW
Fri 12 Apr - The Abbey, Canberra, ACT
Sat 13 Apr - The Basement, Sydney, NSW.
With string quartet
Sun 14 Apr - Clarendon Guesthouse, Katoomba, NSW
www.clarendonguesthouse.com.au
Sat 27 Apr - Flinders Performance Centre, Buderim, QLD
Thu 2 May - Brass Monkey, Cronulla, NSW
Fri 3 May – Lizottes, Dee Why, NSW
http://www.sydney.lizottes.com.au/live/
Sat 4 May – Lizottes, Central Coast, NSW
http://www.lizottes.com.au/live/
Sun 5 May – Lizottes, Newcastle, NSW
www.newcastle.lizottes.com.au/live/
Songbook Available Now @ www.katienoonan.com - or iTunes
