The first Australia Idol winner announced just a week ago that he would play in the Shoalhaven as part of his latest album tour, which will also stop in six capital cities around the nation and Newcastle. 

Sebastian, who owns a house in Gerroa, arrived in Nowra on Thursday, October 26 to rehearse for the Conscious tour. 

Admitting the show was “last minute”, Sebastian said he had originally planned to use the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre as a rehearsal stage only. 

“It was last minute to turn it into a show because It was just supposed to be rehearsals. But, while we are down there and everything is set up, we thought why not put on a show,” he said.

 Behind the scenes on the Guy Sebastian setup with tour manager Dan Redgrave.

“I thought ‘Why don’t we put an actual show on down there so people down that way don’t have to travel all the way to the Enmore in Sydney’.  

"We were to include Nowra on our regional tour next year anyway, but instead, I thought, ‘Bugger it we will do it with the big stage set up, as opposed to the smaller regional set up’."

The set list for the south coast show will not be different to that played in the cities, however the band may stop to “redo something” or “iron out a couple of things”, Sebastian said. 

“It will be no different to the rest of the shows on the tour. We will be doing as per what the tour will be but there may be some occasions where we iron out a couple of things or we redo something,” he said.

“It could be pretty funny because there will be more of a relaxed vibe. 

“There will be more crowd interaction than normal. I feel like it is almost like I am inviting people to come and have a look. Some things may go wrong.”

The singer/songwriter’s latest album Conscious’is different to anything he has done before, with Sebastian said he “just wanted to be creative”. 

“The production and the style are different on this album. I have been unashamed to just go soul/RNB, which is what I feel I do best and what I feel the band I have do best as well,” he said. 

“It feels like I am doing what I am supposed to doing. I think sometimes there is a feeling of making music with an agenda, like, I want this to translate and I want radio to play it.

“On this album, I have just wanted to be creative. I wanted to push the boundaries a little bit with production, and make that soulful, and not have just straight up chords, but musically push myself. I have produced quiet a lot on the record and I am really exciting about it.

“I am excited about bringing it to a live stage.” 

On the night, Sebastian will play a mix of old and new tunes, including his hit Triple J Like a Version cover of LDRU’s Keeping Score.

However, his older hits like Battle Scars will be given “up-to-date treatment”. 

“I have a new album, but I am not going to put on a show and just play new stuff. I think I acknowledge the fact that people come to these shows and expect to know a lot of the tunes,” he said. 

“I am defiantly going to be doing a lot of the older stuff, but I will play it as if I have released now. If I released Battle Scars right now, how would I produce it? What sort of direction would I give it now, compared to when I released it?

“I will give my older stuff more of an up-to-date treatment.”

Half of the Nowra show tickets sold just hours after it was announced, with about 1000 people expected to converge on the entertainment centre next Tuesday night. 

“It is just about getting it out there. When you announce a show last minute with no promotion or anything like that, you never know how it will go,” Sebastian said. 

“I am just trying to make people aware that I am actually playing down there because it’s not like we have had posters down there for months.”

Guy Sebastian will play at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre in Nowra on Tuesday, October 31 for tow-and-a-half hours, starting at 7.30pm. 

His support act is Gresham.