[Keith Alan]

Anyone remember Mark Burnett's reality show where the object was to find a new lead singer for the band INXS?

A man who placed right near the top (and who I always said had the best voice of the entire group of contestants) was in town tonight.

He was playing the last date on a world tour of all the Hard Rock Cafe's to promote his upcoming debut CD on Decca, as well as to raise money for Music Rising, the organization founded by The Edge of U2 to raise money to replace instruments lost in Hurricane Katrina and to benefit other worthy musical causes like providing support for impoverished school systems who need help to keep their music classes running.

Mig Ayesa didn't disappoint my expectations.
This young man from Australia had an amazing voice, with power and control and an effortless ability to inject just the right amount of emotion to help the listener connect with the lyrics without being sappy.
Years spent in starring roles on both the Sydney and London theatre circuits have served him well.

I was the sound engineer at the show tonight, and Mig and his wife Simone couldn't have been more gracious to the crew and fans.
After performing, anyone who wanted an autographed promo CD and/or a photo taken with Mig were cheerfully accommodated, despite a 7am flight to LA tomorrow.

Of all the singers I have worked with during my 27 years in the business, Mig will always be remembered as a consummate professional who was humble and funny and friendly and charming, even at the end of a long tour all over the world. He came across as just a regular guy, who happened to have a ton of talent.
I wish him well as his career is about to take off to another level.

Here's a photo I took tonight:


(I just busted out this quick edit after getting home 90 minutes ago--certainly more could be done but I'm too tired right now.)

[shuttertalk]

I heard about the series from my brother, but I didn't manage to watch any of the episodes...

Nice capture - the venue looks very atmospheric. Was it in a church or something (stained glass in the background) ?

[Keith Alan]

The stained glass is of Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughn, so it's only a church of rock music history.

This article plus all my photos from the show have been picked up by MiG's main fan website.
The moderator found it here at Shuttertalk using Google Alert, and contacted me by PM.

I guess that means this really is journalism, so I picked the right forum to post it in.

[Wedding Shooter]

Thanks for the story Keith and nice pic under difficult circumstances.

[Keith Alan]

Thanks, WS.
Another fansite is trying to get my photos.
Interesting how they found this post and came after me.

Compared to other pics on these sites, mine certainly stand out.
No flash makes all the difference, although after fixing the Hard Rock's digital light controller (soldering skills to the rescue!) I should have insisted that all green gels be removed from their lights. Yuck!

[Irma]

I don't know much about this music, Keith but your picture is great.

Congratulations!