Oliver Downes - While The Sun Shines - Album launch

With sharp wit, chamber pop ballads and a keen eye for the human condition, Oliver Downes writes songs that linger on the strange beauty of ordinary life. Walking a path gestured at by artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Kate Bush and Nick Cave, his music blends classic balladry with chamber pop and a warm, slightly offbeat sense of humour.

His third album While the Sun Shines will be launched at the Wesley Anne in style on September 18. Downes’ songs will be brought vividly to life by the formidable musicianship of his band.

While the Sun Shines traces a journey through love, loss and the ordinary rhythms of everyday life. At its heart is the quiet challenge of living well within difficult circumstances. Written across Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns and the altered emotional landscape that was left behind, While the Sun Shines reflects a fierce determination to find beauty in the day-to-day while striving to meet life’s challenges with whatever grace we can muster.

“With 'While the Sun Shines', Oliver Downes delivers an ode to happy memories over some of the most propulsive piano rock this side of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. The single surprises at every turn and lives up to its lofty promise being a song you just can't get out of your head.” - Hal Langley, 3RRR

Oliver will be joined by artist 'Possum'

Acclaimed as one of Naarm’s most disarmingly honest and hilarious songwriters, Possum’s unique brand of hyperlocal folk captivates audiences with her compelling tales of regional Victorian towns and outlandish nights out in Melbourne. A modern take on Australian songs and bush ballads from the folk revival of the 60s, her music beautifully crafts humour and vulnerability to thread cultural narratives through time and place; from the near and distant past to a surreal present.