On the eve of his debut Australian tour, folk musician Willi Carlisle spoke to Rhythms from his home in Southwest Missouri to get the lowdown on what people can expect from his shows next month. “I like to keep it rough around the edges. I don’t really believe in virtuosity”, Willi explains when I asked to describe his live performances, “I’m one of those three chords and the truth guys, or two chords and vermouth, as it were. I like to play a lot of instruments to add a little flavour, add another story… kind of change our tools around a little bit to maybe make a little bit something different”.
Willi’s Australian tour sees him playing some small headline shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as supporting Tyler Childers on his Mule Pull Tour in much larger venues, “I was on tour with Tyler Childers for a few shows last year, and it’s an amazing team. I don’t know how I feel about amphitheatres in terms of the size of a concert, I love an intimate concert, but it kind of converted me a little bit”. Willi goes on to describe that performing solo in larger venues can sometimes be a challenge, “before all the lights and explosions and the big shit that Tyler Childers does happens, you have to think about the show a little differently if you’re up there by yourself. Frankly, I feel like I’m on stage with a pea shooter and there’s heavy artillery right behind me, so I’m trying… I’m going to be solo as heck, I’m going to bring five instruments, and I’m going to do my best to fill up a whole amphitheatre with just that”.
For those who attend his headline shows Willi promises to “let it all hang out” and enjoy the connection of a smaller up-close audience, “I can almost directly give everybody a hug and maybe even learn everybody’s name if you gave me enough time, that’s a human scale, there’s a lot less showbiz. The jokes are less workshops, there’s a real question and answer period.”
Another feature of Willi’s live shows is his inclusion of traditional American folk tunes that highlight the historical and cultural significance of folk music, addressing themes like racism and class struggle, “the way I pick a song is, have I heard it from my community? And why? Or would my people like this a lot? That’s pretty much how I do it. It’s kind of like finding a needle in a haystack sometimes, amongst all of the Spotifys and the curated AI radio options out there”.
On Willi’s latest release, the live EP Tales From Critterland, he performs the old cowboy song ‘High Tone Dance’ and goes on an extended monologue regarding some of the language used in the song, “you can’t really judge a guy who’s been dead 150 years, who just used the language of his time to describe something. I think there’s more important things to look at in the tradition of American folk songs that usually get written out. There’s the spectre of racism, colonialism, sexism, homophobia. Our joined and shared working-class political struggle is present in our vernacular music if we just look at that part closely, instead of looking for something to be offended at… being able to understand where something comes from, the material conditions of the people that created it, and the conditions of the people that are performing it now. Being able to comprehend that is what can make something revolutionary, or can make something sing out even louder. We can stand on the shoulders of this stuff instead of just deciding that we don’t get to use any of it. What I mean is our history is good clay, and so I want to make some beautiful stoneware for my friends and family, if I can.”
Speaking of “making stoneware”, Willi revealed he has recorded the follow-up to his critically regarded 2024 release Critterland and plans to preview some of the new songs during his Australian tour, “It’s in the can… it’s probably going to come out in June, if I had my way about it, and I’m going to play the songs, some for the first time, in Australia, at those more intimate headliner shows. That’s my plan. Is to do at least a couple of them, maybe three or four of them, hell, maybe the whole thing.. so you guys get first crack at it”.
Willi Carlisle Australian Tour:
Black Bear Lodge Brisbane 9 February
Factory Floor Sydney 13 February
Northcote Social Club Melbourne 17 February.
Special guest with Tyler Childers:
Spark Arena Auckland NZ 6 February
Sandstone Point Hotel Brisbane QLD 8 February
Hordern Pavilion Sydney 11 February
Howlin’ Country Newcastle NSW 15 February
Coal Creek Community Park and Museum 22 February
The Drive Adelaide 24 February
For tickets and further information visit Love Police touring.