AFTER three decades playing "almost every venue in town" and supporting the likes of Mick Jagger and Midnight Oil, Newcastle musician Ty Penshorn is taking the plunge into the world of television.
And his son Eddie, 11, is joining him for the ride.
The father and son duo from The Junction are representing Newcastle in The Voice Generations, which premieres on Channel 7 on January 31.
The show is a new twist on television singing contest The Voice, featuring performers of all generations from across the nation competing in the global-first special event.
Screening across three nights, music superstar coaches Keith Urban, Rita Ora, Guy Sebastian and Jessica Mauboy are once again on the judging panel as the contestants compete in blind auditions in the hope of making it through to the battle rounds and grand finale.
"We are both super excited about it," Ty told the Newcastle Herald.
"Eddie is 11, so he is going into Year 6 at The Junction Primary School this year and you can imagine that age group, they're all beside themselves saying 'Oh my god, I can't believe you're on The Voice'.
"Everyone has it marked in their calendar to support him and cheer him on."
The series begins with the blind auditions where each act takes to the stage hoping to turn the coaches' chair, with each coach only having two spots on their team in this series.
Eight acts will compete in the battle rounds and sing head-to-head for a spot in the grand finale. A final four acts will perform in the grand finale for their shot at the title of the world's first The Voice Generations champion.
Ty and Eddie signed up for the show at the encouragement of a friend who knew the pair had been playing music together since Eddie took up guitar during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
"Eddie and I have done a lot of singing and playing together online on social media and we had a friend that came across the application that contacted us and said 'You guys have to go into this. You are perfect for this", so we auditioned," Ty said.
"The process started in June last year and gradually we ticked enough boxes to get through to the blind auditions which was like 'Holy crap, now we actually have to do something, don't we?' and it all became real."
The father and son team remained tight-lipped about their performance on the show, but admitted that nerves were high as they headed into the blind audition.
"When you walk on the stage and the door is opening you think 'Wow, there's actually people in those chairs!'," Eddie said.
"It's like you're watching TV but you're actually there and you have to sing.
"I was very nervous."
Ty adds: "We were both very nervous for the blind auditions because, you know, I've got my 11 year old son here, I'm worried about him stuffing up, I'm worried about me stuffing up and letting him down [laughs].
"It's a different animal playing at that show. I could play in front of 30,000 people with a band at the football and not be worried, but to do this, it's just different.
"You've got 90 seconds to perform and everyone is watching."
Ty Penshorn is a well-known figure on the Newcastle music scene having performed in bands such as The Humm and Little Hornet.
Over the course of his career as a professional musician he has supported Midnight Oil, The Divinyls and Mick Jagger, and performed in venues around the globe, from Canada to Egypt.
His passion for music was passed on to Eddie who shares his father's love for The Beatles and classic rock acts such as Queen and ELO.
When Eddie was five years old, Ty took him to his first concert to see KISS perform live at Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
The pair plan to watch the show next week at a screening with family and friends.
As for future plans, Ty and Eddie are leaving their options open.
"We will see what happens after the show. We would love to record and release something together, make some records," Ty said.
"Even if we come out of it with a song and a film clip that would be great. Anything else that comes from it is a bonus.
"It has been a really fun, great experience the whole journey of the show.
"It's not something you get to do every day."
