Australia’s gentle giant of the blues/roots scene Mike Elrington is back with a new song – his most personal yet. “Oh Josephine”, a heartfelt tribute to his late Grandmother, is the first offering from Elrington’s next full-length release, due out later this year.
Written on the night Josephine passed away, Elrington made it a mission to have the song fully completed before going to sleep, no matter how many glasses of Shiraz it took to get there.
“Often it can take ages for me to finish a song, but with this one – it had to be completed that night because there’s no way I could’ve woken up the next day to something half-done. Nan hated leaving things unfinished.”
Known for his gut-wrenching growl, powerful vocals, and uncompromising blues/roots grit, “Oh Josephine” captures a softer & more sensitive side to Elrington, beautifully presented in minimal and raw form with just an acoustic guitar, cello, and vocal.
“I wanted to take the whole “less is more” approach with this track, as I really wanted the focus to be on the lyrics, the story behind it, to show just how much Nan meant to me in my life. She was always a colourful character, never afraid to say exactly what was on her mind, and this was something I always loved about her. Nothing was ever dull or boring with Nan.”
Standing at almost two metres tall, delivering his signature, gut-wrenching vocals like an instrument all on its own, very few
people forget a performance from Mike Elrington – a gentle giant of a man. The commitment to his live shows and the
well-earned reputation for leaving nothing behind but sweat has seen him invited to perform at some of Australia’s finest
festivals, including BluesFest, Bendigo, Sydney Blues and Roots Festivals & Blues on Broadbeach to name but a few.
Elrington has proven himself as one the hardest-working artists currently on the Australian scene, and over the last 17 years
since the inception of his career as an 18-year old in Adelaide, has released 9 albums & toured excessively throughout
Australia, the United Kingdom & New Zealand.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MIKE ELRINGTON AND HIS MUSIC AT WWW.MIKEERLINGTON.COM