The Waifs have announced a Regional WA tour, stopping in at a travelogue of places the band have been longing to visit since their 25th anniversary celebrations in 2017.
Rolling thought Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Port Hedland, Exmouth, Geraldton and Broome – all these destinations will be revisited by the WA band.
“We’re still tipping our hat to the 25th anniversary that is now our 27-year-history, but that time around we weren’t able to get everywhere,” says Josh Cunningham, who recently drove in a van over the Nullarbor from his home in Southern New South Wales for some WA shows.
“It’s just nice to get back to some of those places that we haven’t been able to go to. There’s lots of history, lots of stories and lots of connections to these places. It feels like the right thing to honour that by getting back there.
“And it’s really enjoyable, too. You go to places where they don’t get a lot coming through in the way of bands, so they tend to really appreciate it.”
The band’s hometown of Albany is in for a special treat with an intimate show by The Waifs in original, acoustic trio mode – Donna Simpson, Vikki Thorn and Josh playing songs from their vast catalogue featuring some rarely-heard gems along the way.
“It’s gonna be a trip down memory lane,” says Donna Simpson. “We’ve been rehearsing a lot as a three-piece and it’s bringing up all kinds of memories and old songs. It’s like a step back in time; these are the people who saw it and have seen it grow and will know and recognise this three-piece. I’m sure it’s gonna be beautiful. Our roots are dug so deep in that little town and all through Western Australia.”
“From stripping away all the instrumentation,” adds Vikki, “we’re finding that playing as an acoustic trio and just listening to our voices really closely that we’re connecting with the heart of the songs again.”
In 2017 The Waifs released their eighth album, Ironbark, which debuted on the ARIA Australian Album chart at #1, the band’s first chart-topper. If that wasn’t evidence enough of the continued love affair Australia has for the band, their shows since then have confirmed the heartfelt bond that is felt both ways between The Waifs and their audience.
And now, after some years residing in Utah, Vikki Thorn has returned to live in Australia, enabling The Waifs to hit the road here more often.
“There’s a personal aspect entwined in it for me,” says Vikki. “I became a sort of fly-in/fly-out tourer, so the importance of regional touring and driving out to these paces, particularly on the West Coast, is a part of me reconnecting with my country and its people.”
“To be able to drive up the coast and be able to share that with our families, with our kids… to be able to take them to these places that we knew and brought us so much joy is everything,” Donna says.
“And it’s always the people that make the places.”
The Waifs are touring Western Australia this May and June. For tickets and more information head to thewaifs.com – Tickets on sale Tues 9th April.
Wed 29 May Princess Royal Theatre Albany (acoustic trio mode)
Sat 1 June Esperance Civic Centre, Esperance
Sun 2 June Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie
Thurs 6 June Queens Park Theatre, Geraldton
Sat 8 June Federation Park, Exmouth
Wed 12 June Red Earth Arts Precinct, Karratha
Thurs 13 June Matt Dann Theatre & Cinema, Port Hedland
Sat 15 June Roebuck Bay Hotel, Broome
Source:- Media release
