Burford explores the man who almost singlehandedly created the template for the modern pop star

Doors 6 pm | Band 7.30 pm | Door $50

Justin Burford and MONSTER present

Justin Burford sings David Bowie

"Justin Burford sings David Bowie" is an invitation to share an intimate evening with Justin Burford as he explores and celebrates the decade-spanning career of David Bowie. Much like his previous outing with Nirvana, Buford will present stripped-back and unique arrangements of many of Bowie's most iconic songs. 

"It feels like a natural follow on from my Nirvana show." Burford explains, "Kurt was a huge Bowie fan." Indeed, Nirvana's version of Bowie's "Man Who Sold the World" is arguably now more iconic than the original. However, Burford's fandom for Bowie dates back well into his early childhood, years before Nirvana would take the world by storm: "Bowie was definitely on high rotation in our house-hold, growing up in the 80's We had a Best of Bowie compilation that I'm pretty sure I wore the grooves out of. Songs like 'Space Oddity', 'Life on Mars' and 'Starman' were catnip to an imaginative, little weirdo kid like me." 

As Burford matured into an acclaimed West Australian songwriter and performer himself, his appreciation for Bowie only grew: "When I started experimenting with songwriting in my teens and early adulthood, I'd teach myself Bowie songs on the guitar. That's when I came to truly understand the genius of his writing. His command of chords and structure. His ability to paint pictures with his words. His proclivity for genre-hopping and reinvention. It was all so sophisticated but so succinct. He almost singlehandedly created the template for the modern pop star." 

With Justin Burford sings David Bowie, Burford aims to put the focus squarely on the songwriting: "Behind all of the showmanship and pageantry, behind all of the characters and reinventions, at the core of it all, were really great songs and that's what I want to explore with this show. By simplifying the instrumentation, the songs themselves are given room to reveal what makes them so brilliant and timeless." 

As a fan himself, Burford wants to make sure his show is a crowd-pleasing experience: "This is a celebration and the audience is a big part of that. Just like my Nirvana show, I encourage people to sing along. I'lI be going into his life a little bit of course, because he was so extraordinary and it helps paint a picture. At the end of the day though, it's the songs that people love and want to hear and there's just so much amazing material to revisit."

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