(RockAndMetal.com) (01/26/05)

By Michael Bennett

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MTV Australia are throwing a free, all-ages live gig with rising star MISSY HIGGINS at 7PM this Monday, January 31st at Sydney's Darling Harbour.

According to MTV Australia, she will be performing all her hits including the songs 'Scar' and 'Ten Days,' which will also be filmed live for broadcast purposes.

Meanwhile, The WAVEAID benefit concert being held in Australia this Saturday, January 29th that Missy Higgins will also be a part of has now nearly sold out, with the exception of corporate box seating.

Gates to the show will open at 12PM, with Missy Higgins slated to perform at 2:35. For a full run down of performers and other important information, go to www.waveaid.com.au.

Fans who can't make it to the concert will be able to hear it broadcast on both Triple J (nationally) and Triple M (Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne), as well as watch it on both FOXTEL and AUSTAR.

Highlights of WAVEAID will air the following day on Sunday, January 30th from 7-11PM EST across the following Australian subscription TV channels: FOX8, Arena TV, Channel [V], MAX, Club [V], MTV, VH1 and The Country Music Channel.

Missy Higgins is a singer/songwriter from Melbourne whose music is unadorned, as well as unforgettable.

She started singing in her early teens, lying about her true age to get into local bars to sit in with her brother's jazz combo.

Higgins was thrust into the limelight in her homeland when she won a demo competition conducted by the national alternative broadcaster, Triple J.

Although she was still in high school, her song 'All For Believing' quickly became one of the station's most requested tracks of 2001.

At the time, many music industry types urged Missy Higgins to capitalize on her national radio exposure by quickly releasing a CD.

However, she wanted more time to grow as a songwriter and performer, so instead of rushing into a recording studio she chose to spend the following year backpacking across Europe and writing lots more music.

While off doing that, a live recording Higgins made for Triple J found it's way to Los Angeles tastemaker radio station KCRW and they started playing it. Many U.S. labels responded to the sound of her unique voice wrapping itself around her emotive lyrics.

Even though she had spent 2002 trekking around youth hostels, by the end of that year she had already landed an international deal with Warner Bros Records.

In 2003, Missy Higgins was invited to do Australian tours supporting popular local live artists, The Waifs and George. She also released a critically acclaimed, self titled, EP that spent nine months around the top of the national independent charts.

The lead track from that EP, 'Greed For Your Love,' was voted one of the Hottest 100 songs of the year by the listeners of Triple J.

That song's success was a vindication of her decision to go backpacking. It had been written during her European trek shortly before she lost her guitar on a train in Spain.

In early 2004, Missy Higgins spent several months recording in the U.S. with producer John Porter (The Smiths, Ryan Adams, Los Lonely Boys) and mixer Jay Newland (Norah Jones), the first song to be lifted from those sessions being 'Scar.'

Needless to say, it was the lead track on "The Scar EP" that was released in Australia on August 2nd around a national tour supporting local roots music legend John Butler.

"It's basically a song about people's need to pigeonhole things in order to process them", explains Higgins.

"It's about rebelling from the easy path of just going along with everybody else and trying not to stand out. It's also about realizing you've trusted the wrong people and finding a way to benefit from the scars they've left behind."

"The Scar EP" debuted at #1 on the Australian singles charts and is already certified platinum.

The title track notched up ten weeks at #1 on the airplay charts, and is now officially the most played song on Australian radio from 2004.

'Scar' led to Missy Higgins receiving an ARIA Award (Australia's Grammys) plus nominations for "Best Female Artist" and "Single Of The Year."

Meanwhile, Higgins' memorable debut album "The Sound Of White" was released in early September. In an extraordinary achievement for a new artist, the album also debuted at #1 and went platinum within a week of its release.

"The Sound Of White" opens with the first song Missy Higgins ever wrote, 'All For Believing,' weaving its way through twelve other tracks including the stark beauty of piano ballads like 'Nightminds,' "Any Day Now,' 'They Weren't There' and 'The Sound Of White.'

Also on display are a few of Higgins' acoustic guitar-driven songs, including the live favorites 'Don't Ever' and 'Ten Days.'

With their lyrical focus on distance and desire, the latter tracks have clearly been inspired by all of the traveling Missy Higgins has done over recent years.

Elsewhere, 'Casualty' and 'This Is How It Goes' reflect her jazz background while 'Katie,' 'The River' and 'The Special Two' typify the darker lyrical outlook that creeps into the second half of "The Sound Of White."

The thread that binds all of the material together is Missy Higgins' direct lyrical approach. She has an undeniable knack for penning piercingly sincere songs.

When this is matched with the album's 'no frills' instrumentation, it's a powerful combination - pure and simple. Given this, the album title is also a very good fit.

Her phenomenal Australian success is proof that people respond to seeing Missy Higgins perform live. So to coincide with "The Sound Of White" now being released internationally, she will spend most of 2005 touring both North America and Europe.

"The first thing that usually draws me to a songwriter is their lyrics, and the next most important thing is their live performances," Higgins explains.

"That's why I love artists like Aimee Mann - they write amazing lyrics, and then when they play them onstage the experience is unforgettable."

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