By Gabriella Payne
Emerald locals are in for a treat this Friday 16 July, as acclaimed blues and rock musician Jimi ‘the human’ Hocking is set to grace the stage with an acoustic set at the Railway Dog Tavern.
An award-winning Australian artist who’s played guitar in a number of iconic bands including The Screaming Jets and The Angels (as well as his solo projects), Jimi is clearly no stranger to the limelight and will be showcasing a range of songs, both old and new, at his upcoming show.
Drawing influences from artistic greats like Jimi Hendrix and BB King, Jimi has spent more than 30 years captivating audiences with his style and musical prowess, and has produced an expansive body of solo work (15 albums) during that time, while performing around the world.
After a year of uncertainty and devastation for the live music industry, Jimi said that it was great to see things slowly coming back to life and he was looking forward to getting back to what he does best.
“These are very strange times for everyone – but the rug was royally pulled out from under the feet of the arts and music industries [when Covid hit],” Jimi said.
“So I’m really looking forward to this, I love these acoustic shows.”
“I cut my teeth playing in cafes and hotels and clubs, so I still have a soft spot for that environment,” he said.
“There’s something that very much tests your metal about doing an act like that… It’ll be me by myself which is largely how I started, and I’ve done lots of things with rock bands over the years, but I’ve always done solo, acoustic shows over the years too.”
Since picking up the guitar at a young age (after being inspired by his musician father, Kevin Hocking OAM) Jimi has won many awards for his blues guitar mastery and travelled both solo and in rock bands through countries like the U.S, India and Nepal to name a few.
Although planned tours and shows that Jimi had in the works all came to a crashing halt during the pandemic, the stellar musician has found a way to persevere and used the time in lockdown to write, record and spend time with his family.
Jimi is excited to share some of the music from his latest solo album, To the Moon So Blue, with the (sold out) Railway Dog audience this Friday – but will also be performing at the Rochford Winery, Coldstream on Friday 30 July and at The Bank in Warragul on Friday 6 August – so don’t miss out!
