Performance Times
5pm, Saturday
Torraca
8pm, Saturday
Tramshed
Overview
Guitarist Australia magazine described him as an “Esoteric genius with a penchant for intricate acoustic masterpieces”. A somewhat veteran performer of the Sydney acoustic music scene and at festivals throughout the state and beyond, Singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael-John Azzopardi, draws from a wide spectrum of styles including Celtic/Eastern folk, blues, jazz and alternative.
In a review it was said “His ability to coax multiple melody lines out of the one instrument is simply breathtaking, his mastery of pathos, atmosphere and intensity awe-inspiring” and “He knows how to coax the feeling from a lyric, to husband it with tenderness, lust or wit as the moment dictates.
Both his voice and his guitar are expert at expressing the subtlest sentiment and the most strident outburst”
Visit his web site.
Reviews
“Esoteric genius with a penchant for intricate acoustic masterpieces” - Guitarist Australia
“His ability to coax multiple melody lines out of the one instrument is simply breathtaking, his mastery of pathos, atmosphere and intensity awe-inspiring” and “He knows how to coax the feeling from a lyric, to husband it with tenderness, lust or wit as the moment dictates. Both his voice and his guitar are expert at expressing the subtlest sentiment and the most strident outburst” - Heathen Harvest album review
“the intensity and depth of his compositions reaches right into the listener and takes a firm hold on the soul” - Guitarist Australia
“Yet as always, the connecting thread of his art is his singing: redolent with passion, suffering, curiosity, humility, and courage. He draws exquisite tensions and atmospheres from his vocals; he turns his tremendous technical gifts completely to the purpose of unfettered expression, and there is a raw, disarming honesty even when his singing is at its most sophisticated. Actually, the same could be said of his musicianship as a whole.” - album review by Henry Lauer Heathen Harvest
“As always, Azzopardi brings magisterial grace to the instrument. His gift for wringing simultaneous rhythm and melody parts from the instrument shines in the album’s warm and clear production. It takes close listening to work out exactly how the arrangements are structured, with seemingly contrapuntal elements often resolving into a single instrument part. I have seen him replicate this magic live; his hands seem sometimes to defy the laws of physics.” - album review by Henry Lauer Heathen Harvest
“MICHAEL-JOHN Azzopardi is a quietly understated yet deeply complex artist – an artist as much as a songwriter and poet” - Drum Media article
“I spied this place for the first time on Sunday of last week and saw Michael Azzopardi (I shit you not, this acoustic singer/song-writer is ab-so-lute-ly, strictly, fucking amazing!) See him people, he will blow your mind” - Danny Murphy, Revolver, Music News
"Michael Azzopardi, driving driving (yep, I said that twice) guitar and vocals closed the show, bringing the house down with him Michael is an instinctual performer, reading the mood like a map and letting the music take him and the audience, where they need to be. What his inspiration is it’s hard to guess, but his music is driven with a passion that seems to well up from the earth.” - Live review The Local Showcase the @Newtow
“a true artist absorbed in his medium(s). Voice and guitar are equal partners in his music and he always has something to express, which makes him always worth hearing.” - Album review by Tony Smith
