‘Superstars’ coming to Whanganui Musicians Club

Jan Preston.

Jan Preston’s Boogie Circus is coming to town, and it’s a show that you definitely do not want to miss. Not only will the Musicians Club in Whanganui be hosting “Australasia’s Queen of Boogie Piano”, but also onstage will be “Australia’s virtuoso of acoustic roots and blues guitar”, Nick Charles.

And completing the lineup is Jan’s husband and swinging percussionist, Mike Pullman. The trio will be touring all over the North Island in October, performing more than 20 shows and promoting Preston’s latest release Pianoland.

You will hear the irrepressible Preston on her longstanding and sometimes bumpy road to piano stardom. She will spin yarns from dives in Manhattan to the concert halls of Europe, from her early days in Wellington’s Red Mole Theatre Troupe to a pop hit with Auckland rock band Coup D’Etat, relocating to Sydney in the eighties, and her enduring 50-year career as a piano player, singer/songwriter and composer.

Alongside projected images, Preston’s trio will perform her original songs and compositions, providing a perfect counterpoint to her story.

And then there is Nick Charles. With dazzling melodic fingerpicking on six and 12-string guitars, stinging bottleneck slide and a lifetime’s stories and songs gathered or written on the world’s musical highways, it’s no surprise that he has been selected to represent Australia at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Charles will be performing on the iconic stages on Beale Street in January 2025.

These are two consummate artists who have put together something very special to celebrate their love of the music that has defined their stellar careers, and we are indeed fortunate to have them performing for us.

■ Details: Tickets are $40 at the door, or $37 online at Eventfinda. Yet only $35 from the Vinyl Room 56 Victoria Ave. Members of the Musicians Club and the Jazz Club can get further discounts by contacting their clubs by phone, email or Facebook before noon on October 12. Performing Saturday, October 12, 7.30pm at Whanganui Musicians Club, 65 Drews Ave.