Christchurch will finally get to hear Julia Deans perform her Joni Mitchell tribute show, Both Sides Now, at the Jazz & Cabaret Festival. Julia tells Cityscape how the show came together, and how she prepares for a gig.

What are your favourite Joni Mitchell songs and why? I’d have to say ‘Amelia’, as it’s the song that really opened my mind to the incisive honesty of Joni’s writing.

When did you discover her music? About a week after Shane Bosher, producer of Both Sides Now, asked me if I’d be interested in doing the show in 2013. I’d somehow managed to avoid Joni Mitchell’s music my entire life.

What were the challenges in taking on her songs? Her idiosyncratic phrasing and the MOUNTAIN of lyrics to remember!

How did those challenges compare with your shows about Bowie, Brel and Billie Holiday? Every show has had its own challenges as each of those artists is truly unique and true icons. Possibly the biggest challenge with Both Sides Now is that I’m the only singer, so I’m telling the stories in those 17 songs by myself. Fortunately I have a band of incredible musicians to carry me through (and a cheatsheet hidden behind the monitor for known troublespots).

How do you prepare for a gig? Any rituals or superstitions? Probably putting on my makeup is my ritual – it gives me a chance to just quieten my brain and collect myself ready to perform. And an opportunity to sing The Muppet Show theme to myself. Yup, every time.

What are you listening to/reading/bingewatching at the moment? At the moment I have Pietro Mascagni’s beautiful one-hour opera Cavalleria Rusticana on high rotation as I’m in Hawke’s Bay making my debut plunge into opera! Now there’s a whole new barrel of monkeys...

Which of the new crop of Kiwi musicians have grabbed your attention? Christchurch artist Mousey and Auckland band Mermaidens! Both released brilliant albums last year, and I can’t wait to hear what they do next.

What’s your favourite way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Lazing.

Who’s your personal hero? All of my working musician mum friends! I often struggle to motivate myself to create and find energy to get music happening without the added bonus of mini-humans in the mix. I seriously marvel at their stamina and time-management skills.

What’s your favourite guilty pleasure? RuPaul’s Drag Race.

I can’t leave the house without …  forgetting something and having to go back in to get it.

Favourite item in your wardrobe? My vintage silk super-long Japanese kimono (perfect for Sunday afternoon lazings).

Anything on the cards for when you’re in Christchurch? Catching up with family and friends, and trying to sneak in a feed at Grater Goods!

Jazz & Cabaret Festival, November 17 - 22, 2020
jazzcabaretfestival.co.nz