MELBOURNE singer-songwriter Jordie Lane may have his sights set on America, but until then he’s more than happy to kick around with Mailors Flat singer-songwriter Jackson McLaren.
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The two acts will perform at The Loft on Saturday as part of Lane’s national tour behind iTunes single of the week Fool For Love and McLaren’s first Warrnambool show since releasing his latest EP Walk Along The Wire.
Since his previous south-west visit about a year ago, Lane (pictured) has enjoyed two more trips to the US and Canada, where he was invited to perform various festival gigs.
Having toured North America six times in the past two years, the 27-year-old doesn’t hide his love for the continent, claiming it’s where he hopes to end up as an artist.
“America’s where I want to be, semi-permanently,” he told Offbeat.
“It really inspires me over there.
“It’s a much bigger place and it is where the stylings of the sound of my music come from originally, so you kind of feel right in the thick of it.
“It’s nice to try and learn and soak in what you can there.
“It does feel bigger and harder in some ways but it also feels like the opportunities are much greater.
“There are relationships we’re forming with industry people and each time you go back they take you more seriously, that you’re actually there to do something.
“It’s taken five years in Australia to build things up, so unless some crazy, lucky thing happens overnight there it’ll be a while.”
Lane spoke highly of performing with McLaren and said he looked forward to sharing the spotlight after their last performance together at The Loft.
“I absolutely love what he does so I’m very excited to get back and play a show,” he said. “I just really like what he does.
“We kind of come from that same school of folk singer-songwriters and I’m sure there’s Bob Dylan influences for both of us.”
Accustomed to performing on the pub scene, Lane recently took to a different stage when word spread of his connection to the late Gram Parsons.
After paying homage to the country singer at Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert while writing his latest album, the Americana-infused Blood Thinner, Lane performed as the title character in the theatre production Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons.
“I worked on a whole new bunch of skills trying to be an actor on stage.
“It was a very unexpected thing to do but it was fun.”
j.pech@standard.fairfax.com.au