US singer songwriter Shawn Phillips will perform at Wolfskloof Wine Estate on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 June.
Phillips, best known by a generation of South Africans for his ground-breaking album Second Contribution (1973), has worked with music industry icons like The Beatles, Donovan, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell. His music legacy stretches over decades and 24 albums, the latest of which, Perspective, was recorded in his home studio in Port Elizabeth.
Phillips’ music has defied classification – some calling it folk rock, but with classical, blues and jazz footprints too. His lyrics are topical and complex, whimsical and eloquent. His music is sophisticated and accessible, with a fan base that spans the world, from Japan to Germany, Alaska to South Africa.
Music isn’t Phillips’ only passion. For many years he served as a volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical technician and rescue diver with the Pedernales Fire Department in Austin, Texas.
Since moving to South Africa, he has served as a senior crew member of the National Sea Rescue Institute at Station 6 in Port Elizabeth, and has been part of many life-saving rescues off the Eastern Cape coast.
He met his South African wife at the Bassline jazz club in Johannesburg when he toured the country in 2000.
She knew nothing about him or his music but the two struck up a friendship that led to marriage 18 months after they met.
Phillips and his family (he has a 9-year-old son) have lived in Port Elizabeth for 10 years, although he continues to tour in the USA and Canada annually
