QPAC

One of Australia’s most beloved singer-songwriters, Paul Dempsey, has announced the Shotgun Karaoke Vol. II National Tour, coming to Brisbane this November. 

In Dempsey’s own words, these shows will be “a party, just like karaoke should be. Except I’m the boss and I'm singing all of it and no one else gets the mic.”

On tour Dempsey will be playing a broad selection of covers, drawing on scores of covers done over the decades, and going far beyond what’s included on his Shotgun Karaoke albums. The concept is beautifully simple: beloved songs reduced to their essential elements, performed live with nothing but Dempsey’s voice and acoustic guitar.

Running parallel to his career writing classic tunes like “Monsters”, “Captain” and “Out The Airlock” as front-man for Something For Kate and as a solo artist, Dempsey has also carved a niche as a master of the cover song. As with his jaw-dropping version of “Edge Of Town” by Middle Kids (which was voted #31 in triple j’s Hottest 100 of Like A Version), Dempsey is always finding the delicate balance between tribute and bringing something new to the song. 

“I don’t really care if they work with my style” Dempsey explains of his song selection process. ”I choose them because I genuinely love the song and think it would be fun to sing.”

Tickets for these special shows will fly out the door, so get in quick.