JRR Tolkien wrote “Not all who wander are lost”, and that’s certainly the case with real life troubadours Julian James and Beci Kate.
The husband and wife blues and Americana duo have been travelling Australia in their “pretty glampy” Toyota Coaster since COVID times, sharing stories and songs at the biggest festivals and smallest pubs across the country.
James has enjoyed the living on the road for nearly a decade and has no interest in returning to a more static lifestyle.
“We often pinch ourselves; I mean, we’re doing what a lot of people save their entire lives to do,” he said.
“We’re travelling around, seeing the country, meeting amazing people, and we’re making a good living off it. It’s a really, really great lifestyle”
James made the change when, after several years of juggling playing in bands three to four nights a week and his day job, he wanted to go full-time with music.
“I read this great little proverb from The Art of War; if you want to take the island, you’ve got to burn the boats,” he said.
“So I quit my job, sold my business and moved into my van. And when you have no other alternative but to make it work, you make it work. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
James has racked up hundreds of thousands of kilometres, with his highest numbers of 212 shows and more than 75,000kms in 2019.
For the past eight months Beci has joined him on stage, during which time the pair have played about 90 gigs “between here and Cooktown”.
“It’s been awesome seeing her conquering her fears, getting up on stage and absolutely owning it,” James said.
“It’s magical to be able to not only share my life but also music with her, that’s pretty special.”
This month James and Kate bring their country-tinged blues and roots sound to Mt Duneed’s Armstrong Barbecue on Saturday, February 22, just a week ahead of the release of Jame’s new single White Lightning.
“Geelong is a great city; I’ve got a lot of friends in the Sleepy Hollow Blues Club, and also my dad now lives in Curlewis,” he said.
“We live and travel on the road, so we’ve got lots of stories. So we’ll tell a few bad jokes between songs and take everyone on a bit of a journey on what we go through and the people we meet.”
