It’s been an odd, circular progression for musician Mat McHugh.

In 2002 the frontman and creative force behind The Beautiful Girls began riding the wave as the band’s Morning Sun EP became the radio hit of the Australian Summer. In 2010, after 12 world tours, eight records and 285,000 album sales, the wave reached a musical highwater mark with the critically acclaimed Spooks – a dub tour de force which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts and debuted at number one on the Australian Independent charts. The album won over critics around the world and took McHugh to the US for two national tours in the one year. The first with his band to see the old fans, the second to the church of John Butler with nothing but an acoustic guitar between him and a new cast of thousands.

The latter was a watershed moment – and the tide receded to reveal a new world of inspiration for one of Australia’s best-loved songwriters.

The result was devolution. Mat McHugh’s first album as a naked, raw solo artist. After a decade of striving to get bigger, better, louder and more colourful, the focus was on being transparent. Simple. Honest. Intimate. Another solo EP followed in 2011 with another due later in 2012. Each one is a roots record in every sense of the word. No computers. No auto-tune. Nothing but guitar, bass and drums. It’s back to where it all began, albeit through the eyes of a man who has spent three quarters of the last decade sampling beats from around the globe and melting them down in his own brand of earthenware.

And the idea of coming full circle won’t be lost on Mat when he performs at the Hamilton Music, Food & Wine Festival in February this year. It will see him return to the venue where he first performed in Newcastle with The Beautiful Girls a decade ago – The Northern Star Hotel. On that night, the then unknown band opened for blues stalwart Chris Wilson and performed in front of fifty strangers. This February will see him move the show outside, to perform adjacent to the hotel, in front of a crowd who already knows him and his tunes. And he won’t mind if they sing along.

Also appearing on stage during the afternoon will be Newcastle’s Voodoo Express who will perform a special stripped-back set of the blues standards that have marked them as ones to watch on
the Newcastle scene.

Of course it’s not only great music to keep folks happy – the already cosmopolitan Beaumont Street will be closed to traffic with special food and market stalls in addition to the wonderful food usually on offer. And the Northern Star Hotel, as always, delights in providing folks with an outdoor bar so they can enjoy the sun and music together. Their restaurant will open after the show and bookings are recommended as previous years have seen the restaurant full to capacity. With patrons enjoying some of the best pub food going around.

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