Twenty-three-year-old Harrison Craig fell in love with music while the sounds of Nat King Cole and Elvis Presley bounced around his Melbourne home as a child.
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“It’s a really joyous memory when you think back to that,” Craig said.
“Then when I heard [John] Farnham for the first time I became so attached to his music, and would play it around the house all the time.”
The vocalist has never met his childhood idol, just missing him on various trips to the studio to record.
“He has and incredible range, and is an incredible performer, and when he’s up on stage you can’t help but stop and stare,” Craig said.
“He just came from a time which was so much different to where we are right now.”
At just 19 he won the second series of The Voice Australia in 2013, and has now released three albums.
“It’s one of those things where you know where you want to go, but you’re not quite sure how to get there,” he said.
“You have a rough idea and you know you have to keep doing what you’re doing because you love it, but also because it will take you where you want to go.
“Sit back and relax and make sure it’s a great experience.”
Craig is touring his 2016 full-length Kings of Vegas, featuring hits which have become part of the American psyche through the likes of The Rat Pack and Elvis Presley, and their time spent in Las Vegas.
“It’s definitely one of those places you either love or you hate, and I think for me I really, really love it,” he said.
“I think you have to have guts to stick around there because it can be quite abusive in terms of the environment, and the town is a winner takes all kind of scenario.”
Craig said he is drawn to the juxtaposition of the Las Vegas strip, the bright lights, and the shadowy characters it can bring out.
“There are some weird cats out there, some strange people out on the street,” Craig said with a laugh.
“It can be quite rough, but it can be quite glamorous as well and I think that is what makes the town what it is.”
For Craig, the Las Vegas vibe is an important part of musical history.
“The ones who were there and have now past on created a timeless period in music,” he said.
“It wasn’t always them, it was the people they worked with, the places they played and the towns they were in which all combined to create the legacy they would have.
“They were all incredible performers who have done so much for the industry and history, so it’s really fantastic to walk through their shoes.”
Harrison Craig plays Club Sapphire on October 14.
