A Melbourne Celebration of all things Tom Petty, with vocalists Nick Barker, Rebecca Barnard, Sal Kimber, Charles Jenkins and Rob Craw (Huxton Creepers).
Following on from a sell-out debut performance at Memo Music Hall in St Kilda in January, Melbourne’s own celebration of Gainesville, Florida’s finest, ‘Learning To Fly’ – A Celebration of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ returns in May with three shows.
The show will take place on Friday, May 19th at The Memo in Healesville, Saturday, May 20th at the Brunswick Ballroom, and Sunday, May 21st (arvo) at The Capital in Bendigo for a special celebration of one of rock’n’roll’s greatest ever bands.
Learning To Fly’ – A Celebration of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Fri May 19th The Memo, Healesville
Sat May 20th Brunswick Ballroom
Sun May 21st The Capital, Bendigo (arvo)
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Learning To Fly is a true labour of love, put together by true fans. Local musicians Josh Owen, Dan Lethbridge, Rick Plant, Ben Wiesner and Jethro Pickett, who have played with the likes of James Reyne, Buddy Miller, Missy Higgins, Glenn Richards, The Audreys and more, are a skilled and knowledgeable bunch, well versed in the songs of Petty and the musical roots – ’60s rock and pop, folk, blues and country – that he and his band drew upon.
Together they will be our more than capable Heartbreakers. And they will back some of Melbourne’s finest Petty-loving vocalists – artists also steeped in the music and with a deep appreciation for where it came from – in Nick Barker, Rebecca Barnard, Sal Kimber, Charles Jenkins, and the Huxton Creepers’ Rob Craw.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were a special kind of band. A band that sustained a decades-long career while never compromising to industry trends. Together for over 40 years, they scored iconic rock n’ roll hits in each one of those decades, earned 18 Grammy nominations and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Tom Petty will be remembered as an extraordinary singer, songwriter, and band leader. His career included hugely successful solo albums and time as a Travelling Wilbury, while always returning to the Heartbreakers as the place he called home. All the while the band continued to spread their wings and together, they recorded 13 albums, along with collaborations with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash.
From early FM radio favourites such as “American Girl” to the anthemic “Free Fallin'” and the swagger of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, Petty’s song writing continued to reveal layers. He would go on to record some of the most treasured songs ever written.
Find out more here.
