Rufus Wainwright Tickets

Short Biography

Melodrama meets Magnificence:
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT returns for a very special solo Australian tour

"Complex, melodramatic, ambitious, vain, beautiful and frequently magnificent!"
The Observer

"A single piano is all that's needed to show off his immense vocal talent."
Billboard

"One of the most talented singer-songwriters of his generation."
Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald

If you've ever been promised the world dear reader; here's the next best thing. An intimate evening of solo splendour with the devastating Rufus Wainwright - featuring nothing more than a grand piano, a folder full of rich, thoughtful songs, and that voice.

Today it is announced that further to the Opera House show, Mr Wainwright will be wooing his adoring audiences across the country.  Following the Sydney Opera House show on Thursday 14th October, the tour will head north to Brisbane for a show at the QPAC Concert Hall on Friday 15 October before heading to the Adelaide Festival Theatre on Sunday 17 October.  From there, Rufus heads west to the Perth Concert Hall on Monday 18 October before returning to the east coast for another Sydney show, this time at the State Theatre on Thursday 21 October.  The Australian tour will conclude in Melbourne at St Kilda's Palais Theatre on Sunday 24 October before heading to New Zealand for a string of shows there.
 
On Wednesday 26th May, Chugg Entertainment & Gaynor Crawford announced that Rufus would be returning to Australia for a special performance at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.  A show of gratitude to his loyal fans who had bought tickets to Rufus' intimate solo Sydney shows in early 2010 which were cancelled due to a family illness.

The passing away of his mother and "greatest admirer and critic", legendary folksinger Kate McGarrigle, in January this year, and the enduring admiration for his sister, folk-rocker Martha Wainwright, are themes that pervade much of Rufus Wainwright's breathtaking sixth studio album:  ‘All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu'.

This is an album steeped in beauty, with hugely personal and deeply emotional songs, each channeled through Wainwright via only his fingers, voice and piano. A perfect precursor then for this hugely anticipated Australian solo tour.

In a message to his Australian fans, Rufus Wainwright said: "Its great to be back in Australia. This year has been the toughest yet for me and my family with the passing of my amazing mother Kate McGarrigle, and I'm definitely in need of some sweet down under sun and smiles. Though it may appear at the outset that my new album and show are quite dark, don't be alarmed, I'm no fool and will always make sure to ensure a well rounded evening: be prepared to laugh as well as cry your little eyes out. Love Rufus."

Audiences can expect music drawn from his entire career alongside the new record which features the arresting ‘Who Are You New York?', Wainwright's ode to the city; the beautiful ‘Martha', a spare and powerful track named for his sister; ‘Les Feux d'artifice t'appellent' - the final aria from his debut opera ‘Prima Donna'; and ‘Zebulon', a majestic song about one of Wainwright's high school sweethearts.

Reactions from fans and critics alike have been universally positive. About All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu, Q Magazine has said, "It's a flabbergasting, intense album that demands intense listening." While All Music Guide agreed the record is "a bold, absolutely emotionally naked statement that retains Wainwright's devastating talent for artful, universally compelling songcraft."

Do not delay in securing your tickets for this very special concert delivered by the man Elton John calls "the greatest songwriter on the planet." As we said earlier this year - if the 2008 Rufus Wainwright Australian tour is anything to go by - his return in 2010 will no doubt be the absolute musical highlight of your calendar year!


RUFUS WAINWRIGHT TOUR DATES

Thursday 21st October            State Theatre, Sydney

Sunday 24th October            Palais Theatre, Melbourne

In-depth Biography
A singer/songwriter whose lush, theatrical pop harked back to the traditions of Tin Pan Alley, cabaret, and even opera, Rufus Wainwright was born in 1973; the son of folk music luminaries Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, his parents divorced while he was a child, and he was raised by his mother in Montreal. Beginning his piano studies at age six, by 13 he was touring with his mother, aunt Anna, and his sister Martha in a group billed as the McGarrigle Sisters and Family; a year later, Wainwright was nominated for a Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) as Most Promising Young Artist, while his "I'm A-Runnin'" was concurrently nominated for a Genie (the Canadian counterpart to an Oscar) for Best Song in a Film.

Coming out as a homosexual while still in his teens, Wainwright sought solace in opera throughout his adolescent years, also becoming an enormous fan of performers including Edith Piaf, Al Jolson, and Judy Garland. After attending the prestigious Millbrook School in upstate New York, he briefly studied music at Montreal's McGill University, eventually turning away from classical performance toward pop and rock. Becoming a fixture on the Montreal club circuit, Wainwright soon cut a series of demos with producer Pierre Marchand; Loudon Wainwright III then passed a copy of the tape to friend Van Dyke Parks, who in turn handed it on to DreamWorks exec Lenny Waronker. The label signed him soon after, resulting in the release of Rufus Wainwright during the spring of 1998. The album landed on several critics' "Best of 1998" lists, while Wainwright spent the next few years touring and appearing sporadically on soundtracks (Shrek) and compilations (The McGarrigle Hour). His sophomore album, Poses, brought similar acclaim in mid-2001.

After spending much of 2001 and 2002 touring on his own and with Tori Amos, Wainwright settled into Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, NY, with producer Marius de Vries to record sort of a double album. The first project, Want One, was released in September 2003, with Want Two following a year later. In 2007, Wainwright released both Release the Stars and Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. In 2010 Wainwright delivered his sixth studio album, the stripped-down All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, a 12-track, Shakespeare-influenced collection of new material that relied almost solely on the artist’s voice and piano. The folllowing year, Wainwright embarked on his seventh album with the intention of returning to the ornate pop of his early days. The resulting Out of the Game, which was produced by Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Duran Duran), arrived on May 8, 2012. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi