MISSY’S MUSIC HAS NEW LIFE

WHEN Mum’s the word these days for Missy Higgins, but her fans can still expect plenty of energy and passion when she plays in Tasmania, writes

“It’s definitely a much more low-key vibe now, and I’m much more of a relaxed performer, I think, on stage, which enables me to probably enjoy it a bit more, actually.”

Higgins kickstarted career in 2004 with the release of her debut album, The Sound Of White, which included the hits Scar, The Special Two and Ten Days.

“That kind of changed everything for me, that album,” she said.

“When it was released and it went to No.1, it was so shocking.

“I remember my manager coming backstage with a big bottle of champagne and we were all just like ‘Wow, that went so much better than expected’. It was a really amazing ride for the next five years or so.”

The Sound Of White was followed by On A Clear Night (2007), The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle (2012), and OZ (2014).

Her latest album, Solastalgia, was released last year.

“That’s really inspired by, I guess, bringing kids into a world facing climate change, and all my anxieties surrounding that, and it’s really a direct reaction to that,” she said. “Really, it’s just kind of an emotional response to this new-found responsibility.”

Higgins will be bringing her husband and children to the Hobart show this weekend.

And she said Tasmanian fans could expect a fun gig.

“There’s a lot of us on stage now, so there’s four girls and two guys and there’s a really big wall of harmonies, so it’s a huge sound that we’ve got going on,” she said.

“It’s been really amazing bringing these new songs to life, because there’s quite a lot of electronic samples and loops going on, so it’s quite a different sound to what people are used to.

“But then we’re still playing all the old favourites from my first few albums, so it’s a real mixture, but it’s a good show, it goes kind of up and down and we get really rambunctious and then I’ll come out and just play a solo uke song.”

Higgins toured with John Butler when she was just starting her career, and she said he gave her a leg-up in the industry and took her under his wing, so she was looking forward to joining forces once again.

The Hobart performance will be the last of the Coming Home tour with the John Butler Trio+, and Higgins is looking forward to a well-earned break.

“I’ve got a few little tracks that I think we’ll be releasing at some point in the middle of this year, but I’m going to try and take it a bit easy because it’s been a really full-on year doing all this and being pregnant and then having a baby,” she said.

“I think I might have to take a little bit of a break before embarking on touring again, but I’m definitely going to be slowly chipping away at songs for my next release.”

Missy Higgins and the John Butler Trio+ will be joined by Stella Donnelly and Baker Boy at Tolosa Park, Glenorchy, from 5pm on Saturday. It is an 18+ event. Tickets are $109.90, available from