Sarah McLeod, rock icon and fierce advocate for women, has owned the stage for thirty years and certainly has a wild story or two to share. She is the founding member, frontwoman, and guitarist of three-time ARIA award winning band The Superjesus.
Beyond the band, Sarah’s acclaimed solo career has embraced almost every sub-genre of rock, leading to her induction into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame.
At this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Sarah will swap rock n’ roll venues for the Banquet Room with two very unique performances, sharing a side of Sarah we very rarely see.
Sarah sat down with Glam Adelaide to discuss The Superjesus, her career and her Adelaide Cabaret Festival performance.
This year, Sarah and The Superjesus are on the road with their 25th anniversary tour. We asked Sarah if, when she formed the band back in 1994, she ever dreamt of the doors it would open, or if they’d still be producing and recording brilliant new music 25 years later?
“Not at all. It’s definitely a different situation to what any of us ever envisaged. I think when we started, we hoped that maybe we would get an album out. I remember when we got signed to our manager, he took my mum aside and said, ‘Okay, the record company’s interested, we’re going to make a bit of money, but this is a very short-term situation.’ That was 25 years ago, and here we are.”
For the past several years Sarah has been part of the Adelaide Fringe success show, 27 Club. She shared with us what it was like being part of the development of such a successful production.
“That was really rewarding. The producers approached me in the beginning through Messenger on Facebook. It didn’t even go through any official channels. I spoke to my agent because the idea behind the show really sounded appealing and cool. I went into the project and we thought we’d just do one season to test the waters and see if they liked me and see if I like them and see how it goes. It was one of those really great moments because the cast all just gelled together beautifully. It was just really clever, magical casting, and I think it’s that chemistry that we all have together on stage that made that show really different. It grew into something absolutely brilliant and now we are touring the show right around Australia and even overseas.”
Having worked in bands and as a solo artist, we asked Sarah if there is a preferred performance style.
“I do like working with other people because it takes the pressure off of me, as long as they’re the right people. Like in the 27 Club, the musicians are so good and everybody’s so lovely, so it’s really easy to work with them and they inspire me to be better. But playing with The Superjesus—again, incredible musicians—that’s a different kind of thing because we’ve been together for so long and we write the music. So playing with them, I feel like I’m in some sort of tough gang. When I play solo though, it is a bit scary because you go to a place and I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m Sarah, I’ve got my guitar…I hope you’ve heard of me’. So it’s a very different headspace and sometimes I have to adjust my confidence a little bit. Once I’m on stage however, I just lose myself in the music and close my eyes and really enjoy the moment.“
At this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Sarah is performing a very up-close and personal show.
“For this show I’m bringing in the incredible drummer Mick Skelton. Mick and I have been playing on and off together for about 15 years, and he is an absolute weapon. It’s not often that I get to play with him because he plays with everybody and he’s always really busy, but I’ve managed to snare him for this show. I have a guitar that I built that is part guitar part bass. So with a drummer, it sounds like we are like a rock trio. I’ll also jump on piano for some things. The show will mostly focus on my first solo album, Beauty Was a Tiger.”
Sarah will be performing two shows on Sunday 21st June at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
“I’m pretty excited about being in the Banquet Room. I’ve never done anything like this before and I was actually surprised they asked me to do it. I was thinking – Cabaret Festival, how do I fit into that? But I love connecting to audiences through stories and songs and I can’t wait to be performing in a room like that – it will definitely make me change my performance.”
Get up close and personal for this intimate look at a lifetime on stage.
She won’t mind.
Sarah McLeod
Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Banquet Room
Sunday 21st June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
https://cabaret.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/sarah-mcleod
Photo credit: They Muse
