Paul Dempsey Revives 'Shotgun Karaoke' For New Covers Album And National Tour

Paul Dempsey is a lot of things to a lot of people. He’s the towering frontman of Something For Kate, one half of Fanning Dempsey National Park, and he has a noted history as the King of the Cover Version.

While Something For Kate shows will occasionally feature a cover song, Dempsey’s solo work has been peppered with iconic covers to the point that, in 2013, he leaned into the concept with his Shotgun Karaoke album.

A snapshot of his innate abilities to take a song and truly make it his own, last year saw Dempsey revive the concept for a one-off show in Melbourne full of reimagined tracks – both new and old.

Now, 12 years down the line from the release of the original covers LP, Dempsey is doing it all again, announcing a new record and a tour.

Set for release on October 24th, the fittingly-titled Shotgun Karaoke Vol. II is Dempsey making another grab for mic as he delivers another batch of tracks – performed live with no overdubs or polish.

“I don’t really care if they work with my style,” Dempsey admits of the song selection. “I choose them because I genuinely love the song and think it would be fun to sing.”

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

It’s this approach which has led Dempsey to a ten-track collection of tracks that include the likes of Tanita Tikaram's heavily underrated Twist In My Sobriety, and Don Henley's anthemic Boys Of Summer (though one might assume Dempsey will pop a Fugazi sticker on the back of that Cadillac Henley sings about).

To tease the new record, Dempsey has unveiled a rendition of Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time, which not only serves as the album opener but another example of Dempsey’s ambitious approach to songs which might not be associated with his style.

“Transposing keys bothers me,” he explains. “By forcing myself to sing it in the original key, I am forcing myself to do things with my voice that may be well out of my comfort zone. It also contributes to the ‘challenge’ nature of this whole concept.”

To celebrate the record’s release, Dempsey will also be hitting the road this October. He'll kick off the special series of shows on October 31st with a stop at Perth's Majestic Theatre before visiting the Sydney Opera House, Brisbane's QPAC Concert Hall, the Thebarton Theatre in the kingdom of Adelaide, and wrapping it up with a date at Melbourne's Palais Theatre on November 22nd.

“[It will be] just a party, just like karaoke should be,” Dempsey explains. “Except I'm the boss and I'm singing all of it and no one else gets the mic.”

Tickets to Paul Dempsey's upcoming tour are on sale from 12pm local time on Friday, August 8th.