There is something special about ‘A Day on The Green’ performances in Bowral. Surrounded by the picturesque Centennial Vineyards, the stage generally seems to inspire a more relaxed and intimate performance from artists, free from the constraints of indoor venues and in front of an appreciative crowd. Indeed, for this performance, concertgoers travelled from around the local areas as well as from Sydney, Canberra and even further to attend the performance and so were excited and ready to go by the time that Delta Goodrem and Sir Tom Jones hit the stage (even in spite of a short but powerful deluge of rain just before the event commenced). 

Germein kicked off the show with a short and sharp set to get the crowd engaged. The Adelaide-based girl group drew upon a quintessentially Australian sound reminiscent of artists like Missy Higgins and Courtney Barnett, whilst clearly finding influence from international artists such as Taylor Swift. It was a strong start to the night which hyped up the crowd for the night to come.

I had expected a somewhat more even split of Delta Goodrem and Tom Jones fans at the event given Goodrem’s stature in Australia but while there only seemed to be a few small pockets of fans decked out in Delta merch, they made their presence known from the moment she walked on stage. Goodrem was seemingly appreciative, consistently acknowledging those who made a particular effort to cheer for her during her relatively lengthy set. 

This set was Goodrem at the peak of her powers. Her voice was in fine form as she worked her way through a setlist of her biggest hits. What made this performance particularly strong was that at no point did Goodrem try to oversing nor change up the vocal arrangements of the songs. She sung her biggest hits as they were written and this was appreciated by the crowd. While the vocal arrangements were not altered greatly, many of her earlier songs were given a rock make-over in the instrumentals which added some grit to the numbers. The increased prominence of the lead guitar in “Innocent Eyes” added a defiance to the classic hit, which gave it some edge. 

In between her hits, Goodrem interspersed some covers that were well received by the audience. Her powerful voice soared in her cover of Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”, which was followed by a cover of The Pointer Sister’s “I’m So Excited”, which Goodrem performed holding up a series of bras and underwear that had been thrown on stage by the audience. Goodrem didn’t chat too much with the crowd during the set, preferring to move through her setlist but this allowed her to squeeze in a few extra songs into her allotted time, which was welcomed given the strength of her performance. She closed her set with a rousing rendition of “Born to Try”, which was as powerful as the first time she sung it.

As the sun began to set over the Vineyards, Sir Tom Jones hit the stage, and he was greeted by a massive cheer from the crowd, who had been waiting to see him live since he last hit Australian shores in 2016. At 83 years young, (closer to 84, as he was quick to point out), the mastery Jones still has over his voice is something to behold. He possesses one of the strongest baritone voices in the business, with a richness in his lower register that is close to unmatched. The strength of his voice was apparent from the beginning of the first song “I’m Growing Old” which was a melancholy and reflective start to the set as Jones crooned about coming to terms with his age. 

This was a theme of the set, with a number of the songs from his latest album Surrounded by Time being focussed around age. The focus on these songs meant that some of Jones’ earlier hits like “She’s a Lady” were omitted from the setlist, which was a shame. It also meant that the majority of the setlist had a very similar feel and tempo, where some more variety would have been welcome. 

When Jones did perform his hits, the audience absolutely lapped it up. His rendition of “Green Green Grass of Home” was tender and sensitive and his Bossa Nova inspired version of “Delilah” delighted his fans. 

Jones was also highly engaged with the audience throughout the set, introducing each song with a story or an anecdote from his acclaimed career. From meetings with Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan, Jones told the stories in a way that was interesting but never came across as arrogant, instead coming across almost from the perspective of a fan. This further endeared Jones to the crowd who were all up on their feet by the time Jones came to his final encore of “Johnny B. Goode” (prefaced with a story about the time Presley took him to a Chuck Berry gig, of course). 

Goodrem and Jones are very different singers. But the two have one key thing in common (apart from a team on the reality television show, The Voice, as Goodrem pointed out): both singers have an innate sense of musicality and a knack for the craft of performance that exceeds many of their contemporaries. Both artists put on a fabulous set and perhaps the only disappointment was that they did not perform a song together. This was a great event in a fantastic venue and one can only hope that Jones returns to Australia as it is certain that his fanbase would love another chance to see him grace our stages with his voice that is inimitable as they come. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Sir Tom Jones (with special guests Delta Goodrem and Germein) – A Day on the Green – Centennial Vineyards, Bowral – 23^rd March, 2024.

Photo credit: Tim Bradshaw Photography