Katie Wighton
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | SELF
Music
Press
I heard The Troubadour burnt down. Well actually by the time I heard, it was a whole Valley block, and it was a car bomb, and the police had hushed it up because it was an attempt on Campbell Newman’s life, except he was at a strip club at the time. Which I guess is untrue. Needless to say, I am relieved to find The Troub in good order when I arrive on Wednesday night for Katie Wighton’s EP launch.
Claire Whiting is the first support for the evening. She’s got the same retro-pop chanteuse vibe as the headliner but it’s got a moody edge tonight, with some bad-ass double bass coming from a dude apparently called Steele, so you know whatever he’s got going on is serious business. Her voice isn’t groundbreakingly original but it’s pitch perfect; great instrumental arrangement lifts it up and makes for a good start to proceedings.
Apparently the following act, Lunch Tapes, are a last-minute replacement for Dance Hall Paradiso whose singer was struck down with this season’s superflu. They’re dressed like failed members of Midnight Oil but the tiny girl on violin is totally shredding it and it’s catchy, ear candy sort of stuff. The lead singer should probably quit this band and become a Morissey impersonator because his voice is a dead-ringer. This is a good thing.
Katie Wighton has been tottering around the room (in some excellent sparkly red Dorothy heels) all night in a ball of barely constrained nerves; she seems surprised that the room is packed out when she finally gets up on stage. Her backing band, like her, are all expats of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music so it’s clear from the start they know their business. They start up without much warning and build an intro before Katie herself jumps on stage and starts to sing. The whole thing is like ghosts of femme-pop past, with a mixture of swinging, dancey tracks and heartfelt bluesy numbers. And damn, does that girl have a set of pipes!
It’s great entertainment, which is no mean feat these days. The band members bop and dance along, they swap instruments and everybody has a ... blast. Some guy comes up at the end and buys five copies of the EP “to give to friends” and I leave The Troub feeling excited like a kid on Christmas Eve.
- Passenger Side
Discography
two thousand and twelve
Photos
Bio
With songs that roll jazz, pop and folk all in together, Katie Wighton will enchant you with a beautiful partnership of soaring vocals and expressive piano artistry.
Since moving to Sydney in 2011, Katie Wighton has shared the stage with seasoned Australian musicians such as Elana Stone, Brian Campeau (The Rescue Ships), Leroy Lee, Jack Carty and Danny Widdicombe. Katie’s musical life began at the tender age of 6 when she started learning piano at Mrs. Paxton’s piano studio in Wilston, Brisbane. Since then, Wighton has received accolades in both the jazz and pop world. Wighton was awarded the the prestigious Generations in Jazz Vocal Scholarship awarded by James Morrison in 2007 and released an original album with piano player Dave Spicer in 2008 funded by the Brisbane Jazz Club and Clare Hansson.
“Katie Wighton has proven herself to be one of the city’s best up and coming jazz vocalists.” Timeoff, July 2009.
In 2010, Katie Wighton released her first pop EP What You Do to a full house of enthusiastic fans at The Troubadour (now Black Bear Lodge) in Brisbane. “It’s great entertainment, which is no mean feat these days. Some guy comes up at the end and buys five copies of the EP to give to friends and I leave The Troub feeling excited like a kid on Christmas Eve.” (Jodi Biddle, Passengerside, Sep. 2010.)
Now based in Sydney, Wighton has been holed up writing material for her next release.
Links
