AFTER a year featuring injuries, uncertainty and acclaim, lead singer of The Beautiful Girls and accomplished solo artist Mat McHugh is looking forward to a summer on the road.
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McHugh was forced to cancel half of the tour supporting his solo EP Waves earlier this year due to severe neck and back injuries that continue to prevent him playing guitar.
"As long as there's a way of making sound and making music and getting that happening, which there is, then it's all good," McHugh said.
The Beautiful Girls are embarking on their Summer SoundSystem Tour, despite McHugh still being unable to play guitar.
A summer tour is something of a tradition for the band, who released their first EP in 2002.
"I was kind of bummed because it's a bit of a tradition, we always do summer shows and pack the surf boards and just celebrate.
"Usually you work really hard during the year and summer's a bit of a gift to ourselves, and I was kind of bummed that I wasn't going to get to do that when this injury was at its worst.
"I'm happy to have that bit of something to look forward to and something to work towards, and I might not be surfing this go around or anything but I'll certainly be enjoying myself."
The tour will see The Beautiful Girls perform at The Basin Concert in Launceston.
McHugh loves Tasmania for its impressive swell.
He fondly remembers one of the band's first major crowds being at Falls in Marion Bay.
"We've done fifty million gigs, so those kinds of moments stick in your brain ... they're pretty important signposts so it definitely holds a pretty special place."
McHugh doesn't struggle with distance from older material, continuing to resonate with early songs.
"I think that you want to push stuff sonically and you want to try and make different sounds and make the melodies and the harmonies with sounds you haven't used before," McHugh said.
"But thematically I think it's exactly the same you know, I still sing songs that I wrote back then, 2000 or whatever, and I still feel exactly the same way.
"I remember when I was writing them, wanting to write songs that I really lyrically believed in and thought would stand the test of time."
GIG FACTS
WHAT: The Basin Concert featuring The Beautiful Girls and Jebediah.
WHERE: First Basin, Cataract Gorge Reserve.
WHEN: Saturday, January 9.
TICKETS: On sale now - visit www.basinconcert.com.au
