Young musician Jerrah Patston to launch debut album at Blue Mountains Theatre
With a friendly smile familiar to many in the Blue Mountains, much-loved local identity Jerrah Patston will present his debut album Sounds Like Rain in a special concert presentation at Blue Mountains Theatre on 27 November.
The album was recorded at the Information + Cultural Exchange in Parramatta with Aria-nominated producer Chris Hamer-Smith and long-time collaborator Sam Worrad. The pair will be presenting the album in full at the launch show, followed by a selection of old and new songs from a rapidly expanding catalogue.
Sounds Like Rain sees the Warrimoo resident continue his streak of brilliant songs which effortlessly communicate both the universal and obscure. The palate is broad, with slide and 12-string guitar, additional percussion and gorgeous vocal harmonies. Highlights include a celebration of the end of bushfire season ('Rain Is Falling'), tributes to beloved local landmarks ('The Glenbrook Pool Song'), a clutch of relatable observations about the everyday ('Opal Card', 'All My Friends', 'Some Food Courts Are Better Than Others') and an unlikely mini-song cycle about Patston's beloved Brigadoon Is Bundanoon festival.
Patston started writing songs in 2016 when he began working at Club Weld, a studio for musicians with autism. Since that time he has released recordings from residencies at the Sydney Opera House and The Joan as well as The Jerrah EP (2019), captured live at the NOW now festival in Redfern. Over the years he has appeared at Vivid Live, the Art Gallery of NSW, the ICC, Henson Park, 702 Mornings and on 7:30 (ABC Television).
"It's clear you're witnessing someone who taps into the essence of pop songwriting, someone with a peerless ability to communicate the sheer joy of the everyday, and someone with a sense of melody that Paul McCartney could admire. He is Jonathan Richman with an Australian accent, without the love songs but with cricket and Opal cards instead of baseball and bubble-gum" - Nick Shimmin.
Accompanying Patston on stage is Penrith-based musician Sam Worrad, who has played bass with Sydney band The Holy Soul since 2001. Since 2015, Worrad has worked as a musician and producer at Club Weld, a supported studio for musicians on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities. Last year Worrad worked on ICEHAUS, a free and all-ages concert series for under-represented musicians in Western Sydney, and an initiative to celebrate the area's musical history.
