Now in its third year, Deborah Conway’s traveling celebration of female music, Broad, is hitting the road again.
This time around rootsy Anne McCue, R&B diva Jade McRae, blues queen Abbe May, and folkster Sally Seltmann (aka New Buffalo) will join Ms Conway on stage.
The idea behind Broad is simple: put five eclectic local musos on stage together, and see what happens. The performers play their own material and a few choice cover versions, making the experience truly one to remember.
The concept may seem like a clever marketing ploy, and it is. Yet Broad’s goal is a deeper one, allowing women to play together and celebrate their craft.
“Since I stopped playing with Do-Re-Mi I’ve never really played with other women,” Deborah admitted to The Australian. “And I miss it. It’s not like there’s a glass ceiling for women in the music business any more.
“I’m not taking any pride in busting open this imaginary glass ceiling, which I’m sure no one believes exists, but the fact of the matter remains that it’s very unusual to see five women on stage together. It just doesn’t happen.”
Bringing together five very different singers is a challenging, but ultimately rewarding, experience for Conway.
“You have to think about what part of the octave range you’re going to occupy,”she said. “Hopefully when we start singing harmonies everyone will be comfortable with it. It has been a fantastic learning curve for me. I was never much of a harmony singer up until the time we started this whole process, and I’ve become a better one because of it.”
Deborah Conway is currently focusing her attention on the current Broad tour, although she can’t help but think ahead to next year’s event.
“This is a concert that’s unlike any other. It has been an absolute joy to work on. It’s always a privilege to play with all these other wonderful women, and I think I walk away having learned something every time.”
Broad 2007 begins in Brisbane this Friday. The tour will play selected concert halls around the country. See the Broad website for a complete list of dates.
Image source: Kwanie @ Flickr.com