Justin Grounds: ‘Francesco’ 20 year anniversary show

In 2005 composer, violinist and songwriter Justin Grounds left home with a bag of clothes, a guitar some recording gear , a camera and a dream to dive deeply into a long journey, both inward and outward, living the songs and letting them guide his path. Over more than a year his journey found him writing poetry from the top of a rock in Joshua Tree, singing with monks on a mountain in Oahu, writing songs with Hawaii band The Girlas in a candlelit Kawa bar, squatting in a Hollywood apartment, living in a community for the menatally handicapped, putting on a gig in a local homeless shelter in the gritty downtown eastside of Vancouver, and wondering around San Francisco with a few dollars in his pocket, but a heart full of doves. Settling in an old farmhouse near Melbourne, Australia,  he put down roots for a while and pieced together the songs and recordings he had made along the way.

The record ‘Francesco’ is a musical document of a young artist finding his vision in the world, and was released on the Creative Vibes label in Australia in 2006, gaining acclaim and reviews likening it to Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake. The striking final song on this eclectic record, recorded in front of two microphones in a dark Canadian studio at midnight, seemes to sum up all that has come before it; “Time…it brings jewels and it brings pain/And sometimes they’re the same.”

Grounds settled in Clonakilty, Ireland in 2008 and quickly became a part of the vibrant music scene here, as a violinist and collaborator, which saw his musical vision expand to the eclectic range of work he produces today, both in his studio and in the community at large.

This special one-off show is a celebration of the record that started his musical journey 20 years ago, and the songs that grew out of a deep yearning and love for the world he found, in all it’s raggedness and beauty. Grounds will be joined by 2 special guests – Marcus Flack  (drums) who helped produce and mix ‘Francesco’ back in 2006, and is coming in from Amsterdam; and bassist Dodge Paterson (OUTRI), who has collaborated with Grounds in many projects over the last 25 years, and is coming in from Newcastle UK.

‘a rare, hidden gem’ – the Herald Sun

‘a superbly crafted album’ – PBS fm,