This December 13, experience thought-provoking stories narrated through various forms of expression – music, performing arts and cinema at Johnnie Walker’s The Journey. Armed with the theme ‘Every Epic Journey Begins with a Single Step,’ The Journey will feature live performances by outstanding and progressive musicians like Snarky Puppy, Bonobo and Paul Potts as well as critically acclaimed theatre group Dislocate. These won’t be ordinary stage performances as they will also include workshops and idea swapping sessions with the artists themselves.
The talent
1. Bonobo
For the uninitiated, Simon Green, aka Bonobo, is known for his genre-bending, avante garde sound. Although he’s been on the circuit since 2000, his 2013 album, The North Borders, was his most exquisite record till date.
Comfort zones mean squat to the British DJ-producer, as his form of electronic music varies from electronica to trip hop to acid jazz to chillwave and downtempo. Judging from his personal tastes, he is always exploring and expanding his craft by using a varied range of synthesisers and instruments to deliver powerful melodies teamed with bass and drums.
(Image Courtesy : Will Canning)
2. Dislocate
As a theatre ensemble that is regarded as Australia’s finest, Dislocate was founded by Kate Fryer and Geoff Dunstan in 1997 . The intention was to create a physical theatre group to break boundaries by combining risk taking highly skilled circus feats with powerful compelling stories.
Known for their innovative and visually exciting performances, Dislocate’s production contains of a mix of circus, satirical comedy, romance and movement that have enthralled audiences around the world. Dislocate were featured artists at the 2009 Sydney Festival First Night, Sydney Lord Mayors New Year’s Eve Ball, Melbourne Commonwealth Games,Sydney Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, Melbourne FINA Swimming World Championships and Manchester Commonwealth games.
3. Snarky Puppy
The American Grammy award-winning collective Snarky Puppy is officially one of the country’s most respected names in instrumental music and live performance. Even though, not at the forefront of instrumental music in The States, Snarky Puppy have received tremendous appreciation by the BBC, Village Voice, Guardian and the Boston Herald and have also performed at various festival venues in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.
4. Paul Potts
The Bristol-born, Paul Potts is an opera singer who and won the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007.
Truly a life-changing event, he released his debut album, One Chance, that year, topped the charts in 13 countries (including the UK), appeared on Oprah (twice), brought Times Square to a standstill, announced a world tour and became a household name in cities from Seoul to New York and Sydney to Hamburg.
But the story doesn’t end there. Paul is constantly touring, averaging 100 concerts each year. He has since released two further studio albums 2009’s, Passione and 2010’s, Cinema Paradiso, and a Greatest Hits collection in 2013.
The man’s incredible journey has inspired a Hollywood film (which will feature at the festival) ‘One Chance’ starring James Corden in the lead, for which Paul has written the autobiography.
Get your tickets for The Journey here. We assure you it is going to be an extraordinary experience!