Former Idol star launches new tunes

He has experienced the highs of reality television success, performed alongside Cold Chisel and members of INXS and is a Platinum and Gold selling artist.

Wes Carr with his young family.

H

e has experienced the highs of reality television success, performed alongside Cold Chisel and members of INXS and is a Platinum and Gold selling artist.

Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Wes Carr, was catapulted in to the spotlight after he was crowned the winner of Network Ten’s Australian Idol in 2008.

From here he went on to sign a record deal with Sony, where he launched his debut and Aria Chart topping single You.

This started a success career path for Wes, working with and writing for a huge range of musicians, recording several albums over the years and receiving the coveted Golden Guitar award.

Now, after several years of hibernating and reinventing himself on the Sunshine Coast, he is ready to make a comeback.

Wes is set to launch his latest album next weekend at an intimate performance at The J Noosa.

The album features a collection of songs he has composed and written while drawing inspiration from his new life on the Coast.

“For a long time I was living a bohemian musician lifestyle and then I had the celebrity lifestyle after Australian idol and I was searching for something more,” he said.

“So for the past few years I have been trying to work myself out a bit more and getting to know myself more.

“This album is really a reflection of that.”Wes and his wife, Charlotte Gregg, moved to the Coast from Sydney four years ago.

“Willow, my first born, was two turning three and we wanted to get out of that rat race,” he said.

“Time was getting away from us and he (Willow) was growing up so quickly that we wanted to go somewhere a little more slow paced.

“So we moved to Noosa and Willow has just loved growing up on the beach.”

Wes and Charlotte welcomed their second son Jackson last year.

He said his sons have been part of the inspiration for the songs on his new album.

“Living on the Coast and travelling around India I started writing a bunch of songs and they are songs that have caught the attention of people around the world,’ he said.

“It’s totally different to what I have done before and it’s back to my more authentic self.

“With a six-year-old and a one-year-old I’m always thinking of how they will perceive me when I am playing music now.”

Music has been apart of Wes’s life since he was eight years old and before winning Idol, he said had been working hard to make his big break.

“I was 25-years-old and I had been in music industry for 10 years, playing gigs, kicking around pubs playing original stuff and I was in a band called Tambalane,” he said.

“Going on Australian Idol was my first experience really being in front of the public eye.”

Wes said it had been a real risk to audition of Australian Idol back then and it was something that he had never regretted.

It was a very different thing for me and at the time it was really risky,” he said.

“For me it was about personal growth more than anything and putting all the doubt and fear to one side.

“I got to see the world and did a lot for things that most people don’t get to experience on that level. So on one part it was quite a bizarre experience and the other part was a really fun and enjoyable thing.”

Wes Carr.

Wes said back then hew saw Australian Idol as the best chance to project his music career, but now he said there were so many other avenues musicians could take.

“You have to find yourself very quickly in order to survive something like that,’ he said.

“You are thrust in to a fish bowl and it fast track a lot of things.

“Now you can broadcast yourself on social media through Facebook and Instagram and really use those platforms to get your music out there.”

Wes said he was really looking forward to the next chapter in his career and the upcoming concert in Noosa would be the perfect way to start it.

“The gig is about celebrating a new album and is sort of like here we go again,” he said.

“It will be a one man show with me singing and telling stories about my time on Australian idol and time before that and about my travels.

“It will be the first and last show I will play on the Sunshine Coast for awhile as I will be touring through America early next year.”

Wes’s new album titled A Thing Called Life covers everything from politics, climate change and current affairs to love and people, with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen as influences.

The night will also be an Australia-first for music streaming platform Exit Live.

“It will be quite interactive with the audience,” he said.

“There will be cameras and filming and they will be recording the show live.

“This is the first time it is being done in Australia.”

Wes will be performing at The J Noosa on September 14. To grab tickets head to wescarr.com.au or visit The J Noosa.

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