The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University has announced that tickets are on sale for an April 2 event featuring singer, songwriter, guitarist (and frontman of the chart-topping Australian band Men At Work), Colin Hay.
Scheduled for 8 p.m., the Thursday night concert marks the eagerly anticipated return to the Monmouth campus for the musical storyteller who last appeared at the Pollak Theatre in fall of 2017. The Performing Arts Series presentation is also the exclusive New Jersey/ New York tour stop on a Winter-Spring 2020 road jaunt that finds the Scottish-born “Man from Down Under” once more flying solo; interspersing songs old and new with “hilarious, poignant, and downright surreal stories,” observations on “the American Dream,” and recollections of his “often unbelievable experiences” over a career spanning some four decades.
It was back in the MTV-era decade of the 1980s that U.S. audiences got to know Colin Hay and his mates as the authors of two Number One hits — “Who Can It Be Now?” and the anthemic “Down Under” — during a cultural moment that also introduced America to the likes of Crocodile Dundee, “outback” cuisine, INXS, and (seriously) Yahoo Serious.
“A lot has happened since then,” says the singer who became a U.S. citizen since his last time on campus — and with the devastation wrought by the recent wildfires having placed the Australian continent in a tragic spotlight, Hay has dedicated his current itinerary of shows to a timely cause. As the artist explains, “people pay extra money to say hi and hang a little before the show,” and for the April 2 show at Monmouth, ticketholders will be offered a Meet and Greet option, all proceeds of which will be donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service and its rescue efforts in the affected areas of New South Wales.
Much has happened in Colin Hay’s professional life as well, since his initial run as an international chartbusting act — and when the storyteller takes the stage at the Pollak, he’ll draw from a catalog of 14 solo albums (from 1987’s “Looking for Jack” to 2017’s “Fierce Mercy”), multiple stints as a member of Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band, Hollywood activities that include a close association with the long-running sitcom “Scrubs,” a documentary on his life, and the revival of the Men At Work brand in the new millennium.
In addition to the concert there will be a preshow screening of Colin Hay – Waiting For My Real Life on March 27 in the Pollak Theatre at 7:30 pm. The film is free and open to the public and documents inspiring story of Colin Hay and his personal and artistic journey from dizzying heights to staggering lows to finding salvation through song. Weaving intimate footage from Colin’s successful 2013 world tour, the documentary features interviews with close family and friends as well as celebrity admirers Hugh Jackman, Mick Fleetwood, Zach Braff, Sia Furler and many others reflecting on the impact of Hay on their lives and work.
Tickets for the April 2 concert by Colin Hay are priced at $48 and $60, and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Performing Arts Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at www.monmouth.edu/MCA. Limited Meet and Greet packages are also available for $100. Tickets for other upcoming Performing Arts events — including the music of Edda Glass & Max Hatt (April 10), and the Monmouth debut of Al Stewart (May 23) — are also on sale now. To schedule interviews, please contact Kelly Barratt at 732-263-5114.
