William Crighton-Stripped-Solo-Wide Open Road
8th August 2026 Meeniyan Town Hall LIVE
South Gippsland
Fish Creek.
Wilson’s Promontory.
The Promontory is the southernmost part of what is now Australia. The traditional owners of the land for the last 60,000 years have been the Gunnai-Kurnai people. In their language, the land there is named Yiruk, which means ‘place of high degree’.
From Yiruk to Lutruwita (Tasmania), there runs a bridge between the two pieces of land. Although the bridge has been flooded, that connection still exists today on all levels.
Be still. Connect. You can feel the spirit in the land.
Always.
We headed out of Naarm to get bush for a weekend. We love the beautiful country there. It takes your breath away. Our trip was also a chance to catch up with one of Australia’s great songwriters and performers at the Meeniyan Town Hall. We had caught William, his partner Julieanne and the full band show at The Howler back in May. That was my partner Tina’s first experience of Mr Crighton, and her ears had fallen in love with him. Fan girl for life.
After hearing the full power of his latest release(Colonial Drift) in concert, this was an opportunity to experience the songs performed solo and stripped back. It had been a decade since I saw William perform solo at The Uniting Church in Paddington, so it was a no-brainer to drop into Meeniyan Town Hall for an evening of music this past Saturday.
Meg Doherty warmed up the winter evening with a delightful little set of tunes. The highlight was when she was joined by her mate Joel Plymin on saxophone for a couple of numbers. They blended very well together. It took us the entire set to find out who she was because at no point were Meg or William introduced to the crowd by an MC.
Well, we all knew who William Crighton is, and he is not difficult to find in a crowd. Perched on a chair, Crighton kicked off with 2000 Clicks from his 2016 eponymous release. From there it was tales of family and the video for Horizon, which features his children and wife, and beautiful renditions of Love Is Hard To Find and Priest.
From beginning to end the crowd was sucked into the songs and the stories. From the Riverina to the desert, Crighton’s love and respect for the land he inhabits is obvious. His songs question how we got here, who we are and what is down the road. There is love, death, sweat and blood in the lyrics and the music.
Life.
Sex, Death and Choices, Beautiful Country, and Further Down The Road, from this latest release, were sweet to take in in this setting. If you have not listened to Colonial Drift, I highly recommend it. It is on high rotation in our St. Kilda household and my favourite record of the year so far.
There is magic everywhere you go. Sitting with an artist at our table, he told us a story of a wedge-tailed eagle feather that had been found. He had gone to a funeral here in Australia. The relative of the deceased was Native American. Eagle feathers guide the spirit of the deceased safely during a funeral, as noted in their indigenous ceremony. She mentioned it to the artist and he said, “Wait, I have one in the car”. Now that is some damn fine stuff.
There was some sort of magic flowing through the bloodstream of one couple attending the show. “Can we dance?”, one of them yelled out. Later she yelled out, “Play something we all know!” My partner leaned over and said, “I think she wants him to do Khe Sanh!” You gotta get loose on a Saturday night in the country even if it is only a dude with an acoustic playing his heart out.
William gave us a very generous set of music. His spirit and talent could fill that town hall many times over. Getting everyone to whistle along with Smile was a treat, and who knew you really can’t hear anyone else whistle when you do? It takes a particular set of skills and some more of that artistic magic to present your material stripped back as he did.
Some true original Australiana closed the show with a song about Poor Ned, the infamous Victorian bushranger, Ned Kelly. No encores seem to be going around these days; I do like the format. Cash Savage did the same when I saw her this year. Maybe we will get to the point that there is no need to announce it to the crowd…or maybe they can print it on the tickets. I also think Cash and William should record and tour together….just dreaming.
William Crighton is on the road into September. Check the dates below.
While you wait for him to come to town…..go hug a tree, talk to an ant, and cherish the land you walk on. It’s your favourite planet.
