Hear the call of the lion king

NEO- FOLK and soul singersongwriter Kyle Lionhart brings his smooth vocals and stripped-back guitar-based tunes from Byron Bay to Hobart on Saturday night.

Influenced by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Dallas Green and Bon Iver, Lionhart first emerged in 2013 and quickly earned a reputation for stopping listeners in their tracks with his large vocal range — so much so that he was invited to perform at both Splendour in the Grass and the Byron Bay Blues Festival that year.

In February, Lionhart released the single Call Back Home, with the track clocking up more than a million streams on Spotify. Sweet Girl followed in May. Having previously shared stages with the likes of Josh Pyke, Jeff Lang, Ash Grunwald, Kim Churchill and One Direction’s Niall Horan, Lionhart has most recently completed a 17-date European tour with Xavier Rudd.

Now he’s back in Australia to showcase his new mini-album, Eleven and Two, a collection of seven personal and heartfelt tracks that debuted at No.7 on the iTunes chart and No.70 on the ARIA chart upon its release earlier this year.

Kyle Lionhart’s 19-date Australian tour kicked off in Victoria last month, and finishes with a show at Hobart’s Waratah Hotel from 8pm on Saturday. He will be joined by Kat Edwards and other local supports. Tickets are $20, go to www.oztix.com.au for bookings.