Night Owl Shows are presenting another massive lineup of shows at The Regal Theatre for the 2024 Adelaide Fringe. With thirteen different shows equating in forty performances, there is sure to be something to cater to any musical taste.
Night Owl Shows aims to redefine the tribute genre, bringing integrity to the art of retro performance. Expect high energy (dancing in the aisles), but also expect to leave with a greater understanding of the context from which the music was born, a formula for which the group has gained world-wide critical acclaim. Sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe, Perth Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, and Bear Valley Festival (California). They have picked up 26 awards at the aforementioned festivals as well as over 250 sold out shows and over 140 thousand tickets sold since 2017. Described by Glam Adelaide as ‘one of the load-bearing walls of Adelaide Fringe’, Night Owl Shows have firmly established their presence as a leading light on the international Fringe Festival circuit.
Glam Adelaide’s Arts Editor, Ben Stefanoff, recently spoke to Dan Clews, the creative mind behind Night Owl Shows.
Dan shared where the idea behind Night Owls originated.
“I initially started by doing a James Taylor show. James Taylor’s first ever gig was in 1967 in Greenwich at a venue called the Night Owl. That’s where we got the name for our company. The idea was to use the name as a platform from my own music and my own name, but then as it grew, I realised that we could use it to promote all these other wonderful singers and performers that I’ve been working with over the years and incredibly talented performers. It has formed into this platform to not only celebrate the music of our heroes, but also really try and shine a light on some of this talent that often gets overlooked.”
With something that started out as a small performance opportunity to now become a huge international success, did Dan ever think Night Owl Shows would be what it is today?
“It sounds cliche, but absolutely not. No way did I think it would end up like this. The first ever show that I did was me doing a James Taylor show and I think 25 people turned up and I was excited by that. From there it has grown and I still can’t believe it.”
We asked Dan where his love of music originated from.
“It was definitely nurtured from a young age. Music was always important in the household. My dad played guitar, so we played together over the years. And he’s an acoustic guitarist and a finger picker, which is kind of the style that I’ve followed with, funnily enough. So I guess it was a family thing.”
Dan shared with us how Night Owl Shows selects an artist and forms a show.
“I find a singer that I really believe in and from there I look at which artist’s voice suits who I want to feature in a show, and then it kind of comes from that. For instance, with the Billy Joel show I produce, I stumbled across Angus Munro, who is an incredibly versatile singer but also a great keyboard player and a good saxophonist. Billy Joel has always been a hero of mine and I just always wanted to do a show around his music. I think he’s probably in the top three best songwriters of all time. So matching Angus’s skills to Billy Joel was a perfect fit. It is similar to another artist I love working with, Hannah Richard. We started working on a Dolly Parton show.”
At this year’s Fringe, Night Owl Shows will be presenting tribute shows such as: California Dreams, the Elton John Story, The Billy Joel Story, The Blondie Story, The Dolly Parton Story, Back to Black – The Music of Amy Winehouse, 007 – The Voices of Bond, The Fleetwood Mac Story, The Carpenters Songbook, The Carole King & James Taylor Story, 21 – The Adele Story, The Look of Dusty and their brand new show, The Story of Sting and The Police.
“We have an incredible lineup of artists in this show that celebrates the music of The Police. It will celebrate the incredible music of Sting, as well as the whole back catalogue of The Police.It’s going to be an incredible show.”
For further information and to book tickets to see one of Night Owl’s shows, visit: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/presented-by?presenter=Night+Owl+Shows .
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