Paul Dempsey Announces ‘Shotgun Karaoke Vol. II’ and National Tour

Shotgun Karaoke II features Paul Dempsey covering songs by the likes of Cher, REM, Don Henley and more.

Image Ashley Ludkin

After more than a decade, Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey is finally following up his covers album Shotgun Karaoke with a sequel.

The imaginatively titled Shotgun Karaoke II features ten covers performed by Dempsey with just an acoustic guitar and his voice. Arriving October 24 via EMI (pre-order here), each song is stripped back to the bare bones, with Dempsey choosing tracks he enjoys listening to.

“I don't really care if they work with my style,” Dempsey explains of his song selection process. “I choose them because I genuinely love the song and think it would be fun to sing.”

Tracks on the album include Tanita Tikaram's ‘Twist In My Sobriety’, Don Henley's ‘Boys Of Summer’, R.E.M.'s ‘Losing My Religion’ and the first single ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ by Cher.

Demspey challenged himself to sing every song on the album in its original key. “Transposing keys bothers me,” he says. “By forcing myself to sing it in the original key, I am forcing myself to do things with my voice that may be well out of my comfort zone. It also contributes to the ‘challenge’ nature of this whole concept.”

Recorded at his home during downtime between Netflix binges and doing the dishes, Dempsey admits, “There are mistakes and imperfections” on the record. “How boring would perfect karaoke be?” he asks.

READ MORE: Ben Lee Picks Sally Seltmann and Huck Hastings as Support for Upcoming Australian Tour

Along with the new album, Demspey is hitting the road for five shows, performing tracks from both Shotgun Karaoke Volumes I and II, along with covers he’s performed over the decades that don’t feature on either record.

The tour begins at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Perth on Friday 31 October, with dates following at Sydney’s Opera House on Friday 7 November, Brisbane’s QPAC on Friday 14 November and Adelaide’s recently refurbished Thebarton Theatre on Saturday 15 November, with the final date coming on Saturday 22 November at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre.

Tickets for all shows go on sale this Friday 8 August at 12pm AEST from pauldempseymusic.com.

Catch Paul Dempsey at Thebarton Theatre on Saturday 15 November. For ticketing information, visit pauldempseymusic.com. Shotgun Karaoke II arrives October 24 via EMI. Pre-order here.

PAUL DEMPSEY
SHOTGUN KARAOKE VOLUME II Australian TOUR DATES

Friday 31 October – His Majesty's Theatre, Perth

Friday 7 November – Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sydney

Friday 14 November – Concert Hall, QPAC, Brisbane

Saturday 15 November – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

Saturday 22 November – Palais Theatre, Melbourne

---