A surprise hit of the Melbourne Fringe Festival in Oct 2026
280 attendees whose compliments placed it 7th out of around 500 shows. Graeme and Pete were blown away with the response: audiences had never seen this format and it seemed their expectations were well and truly exceeded. Nomination for ‘Best Words and Ideas’ (there wasn’t a category that it really fitted – which is to say it’s original).
We’ve kept the details up, because it may be of interest to other festivals and venues.
So, this is what it was (and is):
A reading from the international bestseller The Best of Adam Sharp by author Graeme Simsion (The Rosie Project, The Glass House), with music performed by Pete Walsh.
Adam Sharp is a novel with a soundtrack – songs the reader might hear in their head as they read. Graeme and Pete take you closer to Graeme’s vision of bringing together story and songs.
Graeme reads selected passages to tell the story of Adam, whose former lover turns up out of the blue, uninvited. It’s a story of love – of both the romantic and the less-romantic kind – of choices and of redemption. A film is currently in development with Toni Collette’s Vocab Films and New Sparta in the UK with funding from Screen Australian and Screen NSW.
Pete plays the songs – standards and rarities largely from the 1960s and 70s. Fans of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne will find their songs set in a new context.
Graeme’s profits from Melbourne Fringe went to Schizy Inc supporting artists with diverse mental health.
Here’s the Fringe site with compliments etc as long as it stays up.
Some FAQ’s below.
Who is Pete Walsh?
Back in 1970 the Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds was the premier showcase for local music. Zoot, featuring Rick Springfield, Darryl Cotton and Beeb Birtles were unbackable favourites to win the Victorian final. Graeme remembers: from nowhere, an unknown band toppled them. Nova Express, fronted by Linda George, with PETE WALSH on keyboards.
Fresh from that triumph to the 2026 Fringe Festival.
Well fresh-ish. Along the way he’s played a lot of music and done a bit of consulting with Graeme – and with other leading consultancies. He was a judges’ pick for his Beatles and Bacharach performance at the 2023 Fringe. There is no Bacharach in the Adam Sharp performance. (That’s what friends are for.)
Where can I see it?
Watch this page. We may never do it again…depends on interest. There’s no recording – with a film in development, that’s not something our producers want us to do. And it works best as a live performance.
Would I enjoy this?
If you enjoy book events, well it’s a bit more than that. If you enjoy going to a piano bar or pub and listening to music, it’s a bit more than that too. If you like a full-on staged musical, it’s less than that, but it’s a lot cheaper… and you may like the story and music more.
Graeme first had the experience of telling a story by reading selected passages in Germany, on his Rosie Project tour. The Germans seemed to enjoy it. But the music adds another dimension.
So it comes down whether you’ll like the story (of love lost and found again) and the music (largely 60s and 70s with the occasional ring-in). If you hate Jackson Browne with a passion, maybe not for you.
There’s quite a bit of sex in the book, but it will be treated with taste and subtlety in line with the ‘family friendly’ billing.
