Paul Kelly Does Shakespeare In New Studio Album

Pioneering Aussie musician Paul Kelly has announced the title and concept behind his next album — an ode to Shakespeare called Seven Sonnets & A Song.

Due for release on 23 April, the album is inspired by Kelly's coveted 20kg volumes of the Collected Works Of William Shakespeare, with the album boasting Kelly's vocals on six of the legendary playwright's sonnets and a song from Twelfth Night.

It'll also feature one non-Shakespearian piece in the form of My True Love Hath My Heart, sung by Vika Bull and penned by Sir Philip Sidney. Other musos on the album include Lucky Oceans, Alice Keath and members of Kelly's band.

The release of the album is planned to a tee, as it coincides with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Kelly will drop the album at midnight Greenwich Mean Time on 22 April, as the clock ticks over to the 23rd, and head to the State Library of NSW for a performance that day as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival and Bell Shakespeare. He'll also appear at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 16 May, speaking about his affinity with Shakespeare and performing some of his sonnets.