Book now: JoJo Smith and Tracey Roberts live at Wyreena Music Café

Audiences will be in for a treat when Wyreena’s Music Café plays host to two of the country’s most respected singer-songwriters for one special performance on Friday 28 February.

JoJo Smith (vocals, guitar, drums) and Tracey Roberts (vocals, keyboards) are two of Australia’s best singer-songwriter blues-jazz-soul musicians with several album releases to their credit.

Since her arrival in Australia in the late 70s, New Zealand-born JoJo Smith has cemented her place among the nation’s most gifted and admired singers, songwriters and musicians.

A veteran of the music industry in Australia, Smith is described as an irresistible drawcard for audiences and performers alike. She’s garnered many fans – Renee Geyer (ARIA Hall of Fame recipient and an icon of Australian music) and Billy Pinnell (legendary radio announcer) among them.

“JoJo has been an inspiration to myself and many other musicians in Australia for many years, says Geyer, while Pinnell describes her as an “exceptional artist”.

“JoJo has a special stage presence – an elastic voice, demure one minute, tough the next – no histrionics, just a deep connection with audience and musicians,” says Pinnell.

Smith has performed with some of the cream of Australian music royalty, such as Marica Hines, Renee Geyer and Glenn Shorrock, and has even recorded with Olivia Newton-John. Smith also lays claim for being the first woman to perform at the Byron Bay’s annual ‘Blues Festival’ in 1990.

“Music is in my blood,” says Smith, who began writing her own material at an early age after being inspired by soul acts such as Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.

“Over the last 20 years or so I have placed a lot of creative energy into the song-writing process, with a great emphasis on the arrangements, thinking through what I want to convey and in the actual composition,” she says.

Globetrotting Australian vocalist and pianist Tracey Roberts, who also happens to be an accomplished visual artist, has an impressive resume that demonstrates her industriousness, talent and flexibility.

Singing from practically the moment she could talk, Roberts’ intelligently constructed lyrics are poetic and image-laden, often said to inspire and transport one into a place which is all about the experience or story within a song.

She’s been described one of the rare breed of singer-songwriter-pianists whose emotive and stylish performances consistently hold audiences spellbound – a gifted ‘all-rounder’ who often defies categorisation, such are her diverse capabilities.

Roberts’ heartfelt interpretation of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah is guaranteed to stir the emotions of even the most casual listener.

Together as a duo, Smith and Roberts warmly engage their audiences with a selection of great songs delivered with dynamic vocals, beautiful harmonies, sophisticated musicianship, joy and a quirky sense of humour.

This is one entertaining, class act you won’t want to miss.

Wyreena’s Music Café is a wonderful monthly event hosted by the Wyreena Community Arts Centre featuring some of the country’s most talented artists.

When: Friday 28 February 2020 (7.30pm to 9.30pm) Venue: Wyreena Community Arts Centre, 13-23 Hull Road, Croydon Cost: $36 (includes light supper)

Book online