Music

Music Monday: Karise Eden and Dean Ray

In this edition of Music Monday we are celebrating the music of Karise Eden and Dean Ray, who will perform together throughout Australia in May and June.

Karise Eden stormed onto the Australian music scene in 2012 via the first season of The Voice. She not only won the season, but also hit four out of the top five ARIA Singles Chart for the week that her single ‘You Won’t Let Me’ debuted—a feat not accomplished since The Beatles in 1964. Her musical journey has continued since then with two studio albums and a long string of live performances.

Karise’s stunning vocal ability is well supported by her proficiency with the guitar, banjo, and double bass. But it’s definitely her voice that is the most striking. Her Voice audition performance of ‘It’s A Man’s World’ had all four judges turn their seats within twelve seconds as she belted it out with passionate strength. She followed it up with equally strong performances over the course of the season. My personal favourite was her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’, which made me cry. Or maybe it was her cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, which also made me cry.

The Voice Australia: Karise Eden (@kariseeden) sings It's A Man's World

Dean Ray is another success story from the world of Australian reality television music competitions (try saying that three times fast.) As runner-up of the 2014 season of The X Factor, he was chosen for a recording contract with Sony, and his debut single ‘Coming Back’ also made the ARIA Singles Chart.

Like Karise, he has musical abilities beyond just singing; he writes his own songs and plays guitar and drums (I assume not all at the same time). He has also had a successful career in touring Australia, performing in a host of different venues, and supporting The Veronicas’ 2015 Sanctified Tour. Dean has an amazing vocal range, as proven on The X Factor with his ability to cover anyone from Kim Carnes to Nick Cave.

Dean Ray - Week 8 - Live Show 8 - The X Factor Australia 2014

Their respective talents will come together in the Rebellion Tour, an Australia-wide tour during May and June—and given their amazing solo performances, the combination is sure to be a fantastic show.

Tickets for the Rebellion Tour are available for The Palms at Crown Melbourne on Friday May 27, the Charles Hotel in North Perth on Friday 17 June, and the Ravenswood, WA on Saturday 18 June. Click here to purchase tickets now.