The Songlines Tour with Wendy Oldfield and Paul Hanmer starts in Joburg tonight. This is the first date in the city, but the pair have already performed for crowds in Knysna and The Garden Route.
The national tour will stop in spots like Cape Town, the Midlands, Durban and move back to Joburg before it wraps.
The Acid Rain singer-songwriter is joined by the Trains to Taung muso to take audiences down memory lane as well as collaborate with the likes of McCoy Mrubata, Louis Mhlanga, Linda Skhakhane and Hannah Foster during the illustrious tour.
Oldfield is particularly thrilled to be embarking on this journey with Hanmer. She says: “Paul and I were put together in a SAFM collaboration series about seven or eight years ago at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. The series was all about putting together these unlikely musical pairs for concerts. It was the first time Paul and I played together and I always wanted to revisit that experience. It was so special.”
Hanmer feels the same way. He shares: “When Wendy reached out to me to do something with her, I jumped at the chance.”
He also went on to say: “Depending on how you look at it, the sound is really empty or really full. We are just two people on stage, most of the time. So we rely on each other because we are so exposed to each other, and the audience. You have to feel good together to do this. There’s nowhere to hide.
“But Wendy has such a positive spirit; it’s irrepressible. It makes her quite special. I couldn’t wish for a better collaborator.”
Although they will collaborate on stage, both are consummate musicians in their own right and fans of either can rest assured that they will be catered to.
As Hanmer says: “It’s simple. Here’s Wendy. Here’s Paul. We have decided to make music together. And we will create something that is recognisably Wendy and recognisably Paul, but also has aspects of adding something new to each other’s idioms. And put each other in an unexpected context.
“Hopefully, audiences will hear a genuine blend that is special. Hopefully, audiences will enjoy Wendy all over again, as well as my songs that Wendy treats with her special touch.”
l Catch the Songlines Tour with Wendy Oldfield and Paul Hanmer at the Bassline in Newtown today, the Troyeville Hotel on Friday and the Lucky Bean Restaurant in Melville on Sunday. Next month’s dates can be found at www.facebook.com/ songlinestour.