TOP South African musician and songwriter Robin Auld will be performing with Port Elizabeth based percussionist John Dicken at Uptown Theatres tomorrow.

For this acoustic show Auld will be playing a wide selection of material, with arrangements of his early hits such as All of Woman and Baby You Been Good, through his nineties hits like Love Kills to the present day material such as Over the Mountain, the video of which has been much featured recently on SABC.

Accompanied by “local PE lad” and master percussionist John Dicken (also known to Bay audiences as a songwriter and guitarist of note) the show will also feature some cover versions of bluesy songs from artists such as Ray Charles and Robert Johnson.

The musical element of the show is energetic, soulful and upbeat, featuring his original guitar playing, harmonica, soulful vocals and that famous pounding right foot.

As an interesting new additional drawcard, Auld will also be including humorous stories of his time in the SA music industry , such as what it’s like to follow Patricia Lewis on stage in Bloemfontein, and stories from the Cape including the best way to get baboons out of the kitchen. Auld, a former Capetonian, now lives in London.

His music has evolved from the pop sound of his early recordings into the contemporary mix of blues, African and Celtic that makes up his sound today.

He has released 12 albums and had numerous radio hits in South Africa including two number ones. Auld has played with many of SA’s top musicians over the years from members of Freshlyground to Johnny Clegg, and he has done double bills at events like the Grahamstown festival with artists such as Valiant Swart, Koos Kombuis, Michelle Shocked, and Louis Mhlanga.

He’s performed and recorded in New York, London, Nashville and played events like Womad, the Cambridge Folk Festival, and Belladrum in the Scottish highlands .

The beach and surfing were a large part of his early career and he considered becoming a pro surfer at one stage.

The performance will take place in the intimate Chaplin Theatre at Uptown. Tickets are R100 and are available from the Uptown box office. Pre-show dinner reservations are available from 6pm on the night.