The Church frontman Steve Kilbey still fighting back against the zeitgeist

But Steve Kilbey of The Church has never been one to be pigeon-holed.

Kilbey is set to play a selection of his back catalogue at a one-night only visit to the small but well-renowned small hall in the bush south of Bermagui.

Think hits like The Unguarded Moment, Under the Milky Way and Almost With You.

He said the intimate solo show on August 27 was just as special to him as his time on the big Australian and US stages.

"I've long been wanting to play in Bermagui," Kilbey told the Bega District News this week.

"I grew up in Canberra and those places - Bermagui, Tuross - those were the places we used to hang around in on the weekend.

"Bermagui is a very special place, I love it. It has a real place in my heart - I feel like home."

However, he also acknowledged it has been a "weird journey that spits me out at the Murrah".

Kilbey formed The Church in 1980 and the band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010.

While the band has some 25 albums to its name, and Kilbey reckoned he has had a hand in about 30 or more others either solo or collaborations, mainstream acclamation has not always been forthcoming.

"Right from the first minute I picked up my first bass guitar, someone was telling me I was doing it wrong," he said.

"Everyone wanted to play different music to what I wanted. Even when I started The Church I had to fight to play what I wanted to play."

He claimed at one point his fellow band members looked to "stage a coup" and kick him out.

"They told me I couldn't sing, I couldn't play bass, that they would throw me out, but still play my music - which I thought was generous of them."

There weren't just internal battles - challenges were also thrown at Kilbey and The Church by the wider industry, particularly in the US where they struggled to gain long-term representation and mainstream airplay.

"They wanted to tidy us up. Whatever we were doing, someone wanted the opposite," he said.

"They thought I could be much bigger than I wanted to be. That I was holding back.

"But I know what's right for me."

Kilbey said his creative nature, as abstract as others may perceive it, was both a blessing and a curse.

"I feel like I've been struggling my whole life.

"I feel like, who could know more about my music than me?"

"I had an armour up against the world. That armour feels a bit tarnished now. I feel a bit weary."

Despite 40 years of "challenging the zeitgeist" and being the sole founding member of The Church left in the current line-up, Kilbey still relished the stage, whatever its size.

IN OTHER NEWS:

He said the Murrah gig would revisit the big hits of The Church from the 1980s and '90s, pared back to their acoustic roots.

But Kilbey said he would also connect the audience to that era through anecdotes and reminiscences.

"I'm a troubadour with the most beautiful 12-string guitar," he said.

"I'm a journeyman who's stumbled through the music industry for 40-plus years.

"But I do still love it.

"I've been going around doing these shows since COVID, playing Church albums in their entirety.

"I get the warm fuzzy glow of nostalgia and I like revisiting these songs and hearing them as their bare bones."

In stark contrast, Kilbey said just two days after the Murrah gig The Church will embark on a new tour "with all the bells and whistles".

"I don't feel like I should stop. The Church still has a body of work deserving to be performed.

"I don't want to denigrate my old colleagues - they were brilliant guitarists.

"The new guys still want to play the back catalogue, but also move forward.

"In fact we have a new album coming out next year.

"Everyone is determined to make this new team work.

"It might be heresy to say it, but some of the new shows I feel are better than the old ones.

"It's going to be a very special show at the Murrah."

Catch Steve Kilbey in his solo show revisiting the songs of The Church from the 1980s and early '90s at Murrah Hall, August 27. Support act is The Fallen Gentry.

Gates open 6.30pm. Music from 7.30pm. Tickets via Moshtix, click here