Jimmy Barnes has announced his much anticipated return to touring following open heart surgery late last year.
Jimmy was admitted to hospital on 27 November last year with bacterial pneumonia. Treatment was commenced immediately however he became very unwell while in hospital with the development of staphylococcal bacteraemia a few days after admission. Further investigations showed that he had an abscess at an old operation site due to the staph infection which required surgical intervention.
Unfortunately, the staph infection continued to progress causing endocarditis, a life threatening condition that without urgent treatment may well have been fatal. This affected his aortic valve requiring urgent cardiac surgery to replace it on 13 December.
It’s now been a little over 8 weeks since the surgery and as fans have seen through his social media posts, his road to recovery has been nothing short of phenomenal and doctors have now given him the all clear to ramp up his exercise routine in preparation for hitting the road.
“Every day I’m getting stronger. Every day I’m pushing myself a little bit further,” Barnes said. “I’m excited about getting back on stage, in front of the band and playing for you all. And what better way is there to kick it off than the legendary Bluesfest Byron Bay with a really special celebration of Flesh and Wood. I really want to thank everyone for their support and good wishes while I was ill. The family were passing on your messages of care and it really lifted my spirits.”
Jimmy’s first show back will be something extra special with an early evening, unique performance at Bluesfest over the Easter Long Weekend celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of his Flesh and Wood album. This one-of-a-kind show will see Jimmy with a full band set up that will feature both electric and acoustic performances of songs from Flesh and Wood and his extensive catalogue of hits. There will be duets and special guest appearances in what is set to be an amazing welcome back to the stage and a huge addition to the 35th Anniversary Bluesfest line-up.
Flesh and Wood was Jimmy’s seventh solo album and entered the Australian charts at #2 in December 1993. It went on to garner triple platinum sales, spending eight weeks in the Top 10 and four months in the Top 50. Flesh and Wood featured duets with the likes of Joe Cocker, Diesel, Ross Wilson, Don Walker, The Badloves and Archie Roach, with four singles released from the album: The Weight, a Top 10 hit, followed by You Can’t Make Love Without A Soul, Still Got A Long Way To Go and It Will Be Alright.
Tickets to Bluesfest Byron Bay are on sale now from Moshtix.
Following the Bluesfest appearance, Barnes and his rock band are confirmed to headline the Red Hot Summer Tour rescheduled shows at Roche Estate in the NSW Hunter Valley (6 April), the Country Club Lawns in Launceston (13 April) and Bendigo Racecourse (27 April). These shows feature an incredible line up of Aussie bands including Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates, Kasey Chambers, Pete Murray, Birds of Tokyo and The Living End. Tickets are on sale now from redhotsummertour.com.au.
And last but not least, Jimmy has announced a stripped back, intimate, national regional theatre tour – Hell of a Time – to take place through June, July and August, commencing in Western Australia on 12 June and finishing at the Sydney Opera House on 18 August.
The Hell of a Time Tour will see Jimmy in up close and personal mode, telling short stories and tall tales as well as singing some of his favourite songs, including tracks from the Flesh and Wood album. This will be Jimmy’s final tour for 2024 and is expected to sell out in a heartbeat (sorry).
Jimmy said “The Hell of a Time Tour is shaping up to be something special. It’s going to be intimate and its going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to play a bunch of my favourite tunes – and when songs are this good its great to strip them back to the bare bones and really tell the stories. We think its going to feel like you guys are sitting in our lounge room. I know you’ll love it.”
Tickets to the Hell of a Time Tour go on sale at 10.00am local times on Monday, 19 February from here.
Bloodlines have also announced a limited edition sand-coloured vinyl reissue of Flesh and Wood, celebrating 30 years since the release of Jimmy Barnes’ much-loved seventh solo studio album. Featuring some powerful collaborations with The Badloves, Archie Roach, Ross Wilson, Joe Cocker, Don Walker, Diesel and more, all vinyl copies will be personally signed by Jimmy Barnes! Available for pre-order now from here.
