Not many singers have the vocal ability - or the confidence - to perform the songs of Adele live. Amanda Morley, better known by her stage name Bloom, is an exception to the rule.
She also does justice to the talents of Amy Winehouse, Stevie Nicks and Linda Ronstadt in her carefully curated concept shows that are more a celebration of each artist and their unique talents than a typical tribute show.
She doesn't "pretend" to be the artist, for starters.
"My band and I have got a big Fleetwood Mac theatre show starting on January 19. I create all the background visuals and turn everything I learn into a story and produce the show, so that's where my head is at right now," she tells Weekender from her home in Western Australia.
"I'm down a Fleetwood Mac rabbit hole which is not a bad rabbit hole to be in, really, because there's lots of fun things I'm finding online."
Bloom also writes and records her own songs but in 2023 touring - and laboriously researching for each show - stymied her creativity. This year looks much the same however she is setting some studio time aside in March.
"We've got 60-odd shows around the country and in New Zealand and I'm busy getting my head back in the game to prepare for it all," she says.
"I started out with the Adele & Amy Songbook, which is what I'm bring to Lizotte's in Newcastle on February 16. That was my first concept show.
"Then I did a Linda Ronstadt show and then we added to that, so now we do a Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks and Carole King show.
"When I found out Fleetwood Mac wouldn't be performing any more I thought it was a good time to celebrate their music."
Bloom and her band will perform the album Rumours in full, plus Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits. She says she's a "new" fan of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks.
"Growing up, I had quite an eclectic taste in music. I would sit and listen and lose hours listening to lots of different music, everything from Wendy Matthews to Michael Jackson to AC/DC," she says.
"I'm Italian so I listened to a lot of Italian music growing up as well.
"I'm an '85 baby so I missed out on Fleetwood Mac and the '70s and I wish I could have experienced that decade in time. There are too many distractions now and not enough soul in music; it's all very quick and relevant for 30 seconds and then we move on."
She's fascinated by the creative processes adopted by Fleetwood Mac and, in particular, Stevie Nicks.
"Nowadays artists they write for TikTok or for hooks. Christine was a great hook writer, and she would say she'd write her hooks first, but Stevie wasn't like that," she says.
"What I love about Stevie is that she might not be the best piano player or guitarist or singer or whatever but she is such a free writer, and she would just let the song go wherever it wanted to go. You hear Sara and it has so many different sections, with no rhyme or reason, but it's so poetic. I love her solo stuff."
While researching for her latest show Bloom discovered Nicks released the album Rock a Little on November 18, 1985, the day she was born.
"I've been listening to each song on the Rock a Little in order to try to understand the magic of the album, to work out why this song comes after that song. To really feel it," she says.
"I'll be sitting and listening to the album probably for the next month, I want to really dissect it. Stevie would say she did that to Joni Mitchell's albums; she would spend hours studying her phrasing and her writing.
"Getting into someone else's creative world can be really fun and you can lose hours doing it, but it's one of my favourite things to do.
"We're so busy these days we're always listening to music while we're doing something else, like driving or doing the housework, but I like to lock myself into a room at home and just listen."
Bloom has been performing professionally since she was "about 14" and has a loyal fan base she calls "her Bloomies".
"To start out with I'd be doing a 30-minute set at a wedding or birthday party. My Dad had pizza restaurants and he would do pizza and pasta nights with entertainment and I'd sing there as well," she says.
"I was doing pubs at 15 - my Mum would take me and watch my set - and I would do corporate events too and I think our keyboard player was 12."
At the age of 16 she had glandular fever and was bedridden for about 10 weeks. She was then diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome ME/CFS. Last year she became an ambassador for Emerge Australia, who aim to "empower people with ME/CFS and long COVID to manage their symptoms and access other supports they need".
"It's important to me that I help raise awareness about chronic fatigue syndrome, especially now that long COVID is being talked about and we've been dealing with those symptoms for years," she says.
"When I had it I was sleeping in class I was bedridden for a whole term. I couldn't function. There's brain fog, memory, confidence, gut issues, pain all over your body, headaches - so many things."
She's also been an ambassador for Shake It Up Australia since 2021. It's a not-for-profit organisation established in 2011 in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research aimed at finding better treatments and ultimately a cure for Parkinson's disease.
"I was singing Linda Ronstadt songs and she can't sing any more because of her Parkinson's - I wanted to bring deeper meaning to the tour and feel like I was making a difference in the world. I think we've raised over $30,000 for Australians with Parkinson's so far."
