Mia Dyson is set to amaze audiences on her Struck Down Australian Tour to promote her latest album of the same name.

Growing up in country Victoria and surrounded by music, her father Jim Dyson was a respected guitar luthier and musician, while her mother Gail was an avid music lover. Her parent’s tastes encompassed artists like Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, Little Feat and Nick Cave, who remain some of her biggest musical influences to this day. Mia’s favourite artists at present are Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and Neko Case. Mia started singing around age 10, inspired by the movie The Commitments, and picked up guitar at 14.

“A friend of mine got my Dad to make her a guitar, and she wanted guitar lessons as well from my Dad. I didn’t think about it until the guitar was finished, and I was like ‘hang on!’ I was almost jealous that my friend had this beautiful guitar that my Dad had made and I didn’t… And I was like ‘hang on, I’ve gotta have one of those!’” she says.

Mia wrote her first song at 16, and played her first gig later that year (1997) at a community function run by her parents, supporting Ross Hannaford from Daddy Cool. “My parents had been putting on this annual ball in our town hall just outside of Torquay…they’d hire a band from Melbourne…so luckily, I got to be the opening act for the night the year that I started playing with my band, and so it was a really good environment to do your first gig in.” she says.

Mia released her first album Cold Water through Shock Records in 2003. This was followed in 2005 by her independent second release Parking Lots, which won an Aria for ‘Best Blues and Roots Album’ later that year. Her latest album Struck Down was released in August this year through MGM Distribution, and will be the focus of her up-coming tour.

Struck Down is Mia’s favourite album so far. Cold Water and Parking Lots were traditionally blues-based albums, while Struck Down is a little more country, melancholic, and less focused on genres. “It’s not like I’ve suddenly gone from jazz to techno or something. I’m still working within those genres, but I guess with this album I’ve tried to be just a song-writer and step away from genres and styles.”

There is no particular message behind any of Mia’s albums. Song-writing is more a song by song process driven by inspiration rather than any specific idea. “I never wrote an album thinking ‘Ok, I’m gonna make this album a theme’, because I’m a fairly slow song-writer, it’s really song by song. I can only write if I’m inspired,” she says.

Mia has had an absolutely incredible musical career, supporting international super stars like Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and Renee Geyer. She has played numerous Australian festivals including the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival, and toured the US, Canada, Scotland and Germany, but she said the most defining moment of her career so far was supporting, and being invited on stage by fellow blues artist Bonnie Raitt.

“That’s really like the confirmation of years and years…to be the caliber that she would invite, to get to support her, number one, and then that she would invite me on stage to play with her…that was really one of those moments when I just couldn’t believe that I was there…” she said.

Mia said there are a lot of interesting and amusing tour stories, but one that springs to mind is meeting the bassist from Little Feat after covering the song their lead singer Lowell George wrote about him. “I chose to do the song Willin’, a truck driving song. It’s got references to smuggling drugs and people across the Mexican boarder and all sorts of fun shenanigans, and I did that song, and when I’d finished, I got this hug from this guy who’d been standing side of stage and he was really excited and I found out he was actually the bass player from Little Feat’s band.”

Mia can’t wait to perform with her exciting new five-piece line-up, which includes Angus Diggs on drums, James Haselwood on bass, Sam Boyd on keyboards and Matt Walker on guitar, harmonica & vocals. Audiences can expect a fuller sound, fantastic fresh material, and some old favourites.

In the future Mia plans to continue recording and touring. She hopes to establish herself as an international act and perform along side her idols. She advises emerging musicians to, “Be yourself and work hard! Be patient and take knock backs as fuel for your musical passion.”

To find out when Mia Dyson will be blasting you’re area, check out: www.miadyson.com/home.php.