A musical treat is in store for Rotorua audiences with the arrival of SJD in the city to perform and release his album, Saint John Divine.
SJD is the nom-de-disque of Sean James Donnelly who has won several music awards, and regularly collaborates with many well-known musicians.
The songwriting craftsmanhas been brought to the city by Karin Vincent from The Rogue Stage who believes SJD audiences are in for something special.
"SJD formulates his songs in such a way that it personifies the real aspects of being Kiwi. It is a real listening experience because of the essence of what he is trying to say," she said.
SJD will perform with regular collaborators Sandy Mill, James Duncan, Chris O'Connor and Victoria Kelly and will play in the intimate 130 capacity Casa Blanca Theatre, which in itself will be unusual. "This makes a huge contrast to the fact that either side of this show, he is performing at large-capacity theatres, Paramount in Wellington and Mercury in Auckland," said Ms Vincent.
Saint John Divine was recorded and mixed at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios in 2013/2014 with a live band and is widely regarded as SJD's best effort yet.
As well as regular collaborators, the album features Neil Finn on piano/guitar duties, and singer-songwriters Julia Deans and Anna Coddington. It also features string arrangements by SJD in what Ms Vincent said was his most song-oriented release to date.
The details What: SJD album release Where: Casa Blanca Theatre When: Tonight, 8pm Tickets: $35 each, from Eventfinda and Musicworks Rotorua
