EJ Barnes Photo:
EJ Barnes - daughter of Jimmy - is looking forward to having "a good, hard crack" at singing Led Zeppelin classics at three tribute shows around Aotearoa.
On stage with the New Zealand supergroup Come Together this month, she'll keep in mind the advice of fellow musician Neil Finn.
"He says 'If you're going to try something, do it with gusto. Even if you got a bit of self-doubt, you want to block that out and just go for it full-force."
At shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, Barnes will be part of a line-up that includes the "amazing" Julia Deans and hard rock vocalist Jennie Skulander.
She'll perform 'Whole Lotta Love' - which her dad's band Cold Chisel used to cover in their early days - and is also hoping to sing another of her Led Zep favourites - the JRR Tolkien-inspired folk duet 'The Battle of Evermore'.
"I haven't actually been assigned it in the show but I'm going to try and muscle my way in to be the Town Crier [originally sung by Sandy Denny] ... I was a big Lord of the Rings fan so this song really spoke to me."
Barnes who has sung all her life, says she's usually more comfortable doing backing vocals but learnt to wail at a young age, singing along with her dad.
"I would just try and sing as loud as I possibly could, probably hurt my throat in doing so."
Later in a duo with Liam Finn, Barnes had the opportunity to explore some "screamy vocal moves".
"That's probably where I truly tapped into my ability to wail."
At the Come Together shows, Barnes will perform the Led Zeppelin tracks 'What Is and What Should Never Be' and 'Misty Mountain Hop' - another of her favourites.
Next week, after the first two shows are done, she'll switch gears and join her dad Jimmy onstage for his Hell Of A Time Tour.
Next January, Barnes will return to New Zealand to perform with Cold Chisel.
"Who knows if they'll ever tour again. It's pretty morbid but I'm really excited. Yeah, it's always a great show."
