Last year he was in Italy for a long series of dates to present his latest album Jan Juc Moon (Virgin Music, 2022). Now Xavier Rudd is preparing to return with two solo dates at prestigious Italian summer festivals: Wednesday 5 July 2023 at Pistoia Blues and Tuesday 11 July at the Folkest Festival at Udine Castle. Tickets for both concerts will soon be available on Ticketone; those for Pistoia will also be on sale on Ticketmaster and Vivaticket.
Jan Juc Moon is the tenth career album for Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd. Composed in part during the global blockade due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at the time of release the artist stated 'Life has been hard for everyone these past few years, and now more than ever people deserve to dream big. I have a feeling that the clouds are slowly opening and I would like to be there with my music as people emerge from this time, so that they have a place where they can let go and dream, move and shake off the weight of the world."
In We Deserve To Dream, the single that preceded the album's release, the steel guitar and percussion that characterise Xavier's style emerge and lead the song to a gentle, crescendoing refrain that almost takes the turn of an anthem. We Deserve To Dream speaks of the freedom that it would be ours to seek in the elements of the earth, the ocean, the trees, yet we find ourselves stuck in a series of constraints imposed by our everyday lives. The video accompanying the song symbolically represents this fact of life through dance and features renowned Australian First Nations dancer Tyrel Dulvarie.
The third single Ball and Chain, featuring J-MILLA, sounds like a warning signal with a relentless percussive drive and Xavier Rudd's inimitable style. The track speaks of the fierce human spirit that continues to survive regardless of challenges and its words resonate now more than ever.
"We all carry the weight of our history and our ancestors as we make our way in this world. For some that weight is much heavier than others. However, the road is long, the challenges are carved in stone, the human spirit can be extraordinary,' says Xavier Rudd.
