7,000 km

7,000 km is the length of the road trip on which Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are about to embark across Australia, travelling the length and breadth of the east coast Down Under. The tour has been designed by Gillian and David themselves.  It makes the duo quite unique, as they will even include crossing the Nullarbor this summer, during their tour. The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless and arid country of Southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast.

Gillian Welch is an American singer and songwriter. The folk celebrity and Grammy award winner performs with her musical partner and guitarist, David Rawlings. The acoustic duo performs as both Gillian Welch and as David Rawlings Machine.  The difference between the duo’s gigs is simply who takes the lead vocals on the albums. Welch hopes that with the way the tour is planned, people will get both bands. Their musical style is haunting, and combines elements of country, folk music, Appalachian music, as well as bluegrass.

Gillian has an almost holistic approach towards road trips. ”In every street sign there is poetry and history and all these beautiful images. Being on the road is my way to check in with the state of the Union,’’ she says. Gillian has never been bored in a car. As she puts it, it is a first-hand way to see what is going on out there and to catch the vibe.

The 2016 Australian tour is organized as two separate tours, and they have already sold out some shows. The tour will start in Perth on January 30th as Gillian Welch, and end in Melbourne on February 19th as Dave Rawlings Machine.

Sources:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/27/gillian-welch-on-the-healing-power-of-road-trips-in-every-street-sign-there-is-poetry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_Welch
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/slow-music-revolution-why-gillian-welch-and-dave-rawlings-are-in-no-hurry-20151214-glltpk.html

Photo credit: William Wallace from Austin, TX, USA , via Wikimedia Commons