Jimmy Barnes is home and doing well recovering from his recent heart operation of in the interim Jimmy’s daughter Mahalia has taken over the family business, the band, for Red Hot Summer.
Red Hot Summer kicked off with the first show in Kiama last weekend with the Barnes All-Stars headlining the first three events.
“It was looking a bit touch and go there for a moment but thankfully Dad managed to get home in time for Christmas,” Mahalia Barnes tells Noise11.com. “While he is taking it slow and doing what he is told to do it is a good thing. We were all very relieved that he was able to leave the hospital. It was not great for a moment there but its good now”.
Mahalia, who is now also Jimmy’s manager, has put together the Barnes All-Stars with Jon Stevens, Ian Moss and Chris Cheney to headline the first of three Red Hot Summer festivals in Kiama, Mornington and Mannum.
“I will be playing the part of Jimmy Barnes at the shows,’ laughs Mahalia. “It is not how I thought I would start the year off or how I was going to end the year up last year but it is an honour to get out there and do this show. We have this incredible band. He has such an amazing live band that have been working with me for such a long time. While jo doubt we will miss him up there and the audience will miss him we will do our absolute best to fill the shoes and I have managed to recruit some pretty handy special guests to help me out.
Ian Moss, who spent decades with Jimmy in Cold Chisel is in the All-Stars as is Jon Stevens of Noiseworks and Chris Cheney of The Living End. “When I first asked him he was like ‘you don’t need me to sing,” Mahalia said of Chris. “You’ve got Ian Moss and Jon Stevens’ and I said ‘you know what Chris, I do need you to get up and help us out’. The amazing thing for me in this last couple of weeks since all of this has happened is just see the incredible support and friendships Dad has in this industry and in the audience as well. People have been so incredibly supportive. Friends have put their hands up left, right and centre to see wat they can do to make this all work. Jon (Stevens) jumped up at the opportunity to come. He was really excited. He said “I never get to do these songs’. He is having a really good time”.
The first Red Hot Summer date was January 6 in Kiama, NSW. The next show is January 13 2024 Mornington, VIC and then January 20 2024 Mannum, SA.
Jimmy will return for the last three shows in Hunter Valley, Launceston and Bendigo now rescheduled for April 2024.
Get tickets here https://facetofacetouring.com.au/current-tours/red-hot-summer-2024
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