For about 15 years, Craig Stewart did the country music circuit. He'd played Tamworth, the Gympie Muster, and picked up numerous awards along the way. The pub and club circuit paid the bills and kept the wolf from the door.
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Then his local club at South West Rocks decided to hold a curry night. It was in August, about eight years ago.
“They asked me if I could do a ‘Hot August Night’ show for them,” Stewart said. “I already had about 10 Neil Diamond songs in the repertoire because it was one of the first songbooks I bought when I was learning the guitar as a kid. I thought, why not?”
Thus the Neil Diamond Show was born. “The public response was huge,” said Stewart. “They loved it. Neil Diamond has a massive fan base. Older people like him because they grew up listening to him. Younger people like him because they listened to their parents’ music. The music itself is timeless.”
The Neil Diamond Show is not just another tribute show: this is a Neil Diamond concert experience. “The concept for the show grew organically,” said Stewart.
“It started with just the music. I can sing a bit like him. I can get that gravel into my voice and that distinctive twang. But it’s evolved into a full multimedia show.”
Stewart sets up the stage so that the backdrop is a full screen, on which is projected snippets from Diamond concerts, interviews with the man himself, and Diamond introducing his own songs.
Stewart travels on his own, with no road crew, and does the whole set-up himself. “It takes a couple of hours to set it all up,” he said. The show itself goes for about two and a half hours, with an intermission.
“The first half is the man and his music. I go through his early stuff and follow his career chronologically. The second half is the ‘Hot August Night’ show and I come straight out and start with Crunchy Granola Suite.”
The Neil Diamond Show is on at the Gundaroo Colonial Inn on Friday February 22 at 8pm. Tickets are $20 each at the door.
- The Yass Tribune has a double pass to give away to our Facebook followers. Just comment on the page with your favourite Neil Diamond song. Winner will be selected at 5pm Wednesday. Non transferable.