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PAUL DEMPSEY
returns with
‘SHOTGUN KARAOKE VOL. II’out today – LISTEN HERE
Shares cover of
MAX Q’s
‘WAY OF THE WORLD’WATCH HERE
PAUL touring Nationally
in Oct/Nov 2025TICKETS FROM PAULDEMPSEYMUSIC.COM
“…just a party, just like karaoke should be. Except I’m the boss and I’m singing all of it and no one else gets the mic.”
In what can only be described as a decade-plus exercise in paying tribute to great songwriting that isn’t his own, Paul Dempsey has today released Shotgun Karaoke Vol. II, proving once again that no beloved song is safe from his acoustic guitar and the brave decision to sing everything in its original key.
The Something For Kate frontman has doubled down on his brilliantly ridiculous concept of stripping iconic tracks to their bare bones, armed with nothing but six strings and an unabashed love of some of Paul’s favourite songs of all time.
Latest single, a cover of Max Q’s “Way Of The World,” joins a track list that reads like a Spotify algorithm having a nervous breakdown – spanning from Cher to R.E.M. to Tanita Tikaram. Watch the video here:
“Perfect karaoke would be boring,” insists Dempsey, a man who has clearly made peace with public vulnerability as an art form. “The whole point is to embrace the glorious messiness of it all.”
Earlier this week at The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre (because where else would you preview an album called Shotgun Karaoke?), Dempsey delivered an intimate show that descended into beautiful chaos, with crowd participation and spur of moment song choices setting the tone for what promises to be one of many nights to remember.
The national tour, which continues through October and November with Brisbane already sold out will now feature multi-award-winning West Australian Carla Geneve as special guest across all dates. Geneve, a winner of seven WAM Song of the Year awards, and has previously shared stages with Cat Power, Kurt Vile, and Tyler Childers. Whether commanding festival stages or silencing rooms with just voice and guitar, she brings actual talent to what Dempsey describes as “just a party.”
Recorded at home, Shotgun Karaoke Vol. II maintains the intimate, almost accidental quality that made the first volume so compelling – mistakes, imperfections, and all. It’s what Dempsey calls “a ridiculous palette cleanser” between his Fanning Dempsey National Park project and the next Something For Kate album, because apparently using other people’s songs as creative Listerine is a perfectly normal artistic process.
The cover artwork, continuing the meta joke from Volume I, this time riffs on Kubrick’s The Shining – because nothing says “acoustic covers album” quite like referencing psychological horror. Once again, it’s Dempsey vs. the music and we are the winners.
On tour, Dempsey threatens to go even further off-piste, diving deep into the rabbit hole of covers he’s accumulated over decades – the kind of setlist that would make his Spotify Wrapped give up and just display a shrug emoji.
.PAUL DEMPSEY
SHOTGUN KARAOKE
VOLUME II
Tour DatesAll shows are all ages
Friday October 31 – His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth *
Friday November 7 – Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Friday November 14 – Concert Hall, QPAC, Brisbane * SOLD OUT
Saturday November 15 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide *
Saturday November 22 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne **With special guest Carla Geneve
Tickets on sale now from Here
SHOTGUN KARAOKE VOL. II
Tracklist:If I Could Turn Back Time
Twist In My Sobriety
Boys Of Summer
Dog Eared
Because The Night
Light Pollution
Losing My Religion
If I Can’t Change Your Mind
Way Of The World
The First Part‘SHOTGUN KARAOKE VOL. II’
is available now, for those brave enough.
Listen HEREFollow PAUL DEMPSEY
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My nickname is “The Amnplifier”. Why? Because around here my focus is on being a conduit for providing greater outcomes that people come here for. My day to day “work” is living in the moment, and I love helping others concentrate on finding their connection to themselves through their experiences.
Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.
Amnplify your experience. That is what we want you to do here, and if you want to let me know why you do, or don’t, shoot me a message on Facebook.
Hope you enjoy yourself here and find something that hits you somewhere.
