Julia Jacklin performing at the City Recital Hall in late March. Smaller festivals are being held from Parramatta to Bondi and, courtesy of the state government-backed Great Southern Nights, a variety of mini-festivals are happening throughout Sydney and NSW. “We’ve been on the front end of taking a bit of artistic risk, if you like.”īig festivals including Bluesfest, which returned at Easter, and Vivid Live, which is scheduled for May, are back, with Splendour In The Grass also locked in for July. Having taken time during lockdowns to rethink its orientation outside the solid bloc of regular users such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and introducing a greater contemporary music program, the Recital Hall’s programmer Stuart Rogers happily notes that two-thirds of the audience for Jacklin had never been to the venue before. Local singer-songwriters Julia Jacklin and Grace Cummings, as with American singer-songwriters Courtney Marie Andrews and Erin Rae, last month pulled audiences to the City Recital Hall, which came back earlier than some venues because its all-seated structure allowed for distancing, and it’s now reaping the benefits. ![]() Seriously.īenee performing at Luna Park’s Big Top last week. Meanwhile, the unlikely combination of 1970s power pop band Cheap Trick, mid ’90s grunge acts Stone Temple Pilots and Bush, turn-of-the-century indie noise group Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and venerable pub rock outfit Rose Tattoo – the show billed as Under the Southern Stars – have only recently been playing arenas. Wolf Alice will do two nights at the Big Top to close out April, warming up the room for Spiritualized who arrive at the same venue in June, with former One Direction hunk Louis Tomlinson following in July, and (one version of) UB40 due in October. The Kid Laroi will start his first Australian tour in Sydney in May. For better or worse, Michael Buble is coming, and Courtney Barnett has been. International acts, including Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran, have announced tours that are already selling out. And those 12 days were the brief burst between the so-called “freedom day” of Decemand when the Omicron surge forced restrictions back on December 27. Why wouldn’t there be some enthusiasm? Especially when you consider that, according to Music NSW, between Maand Februthere were only 12 days without restrictions for venues. “And I hope people are missing live music and performance enough to come out and see maybe one or two extra shows.”Īustralian singer Hatchie performing at Mary’s Underground in Sydney earlier this month. We are really excited,” says Sam Nardo, chief operating officer of the family-owned Century Venues, whose four main rooms – the Enmore Theatre, the Metro, Manning Bar, and the Factory Theatre – are the backbone of Sydney’s music circuit. “We’ve got an incredible second half of the year planned. You can see a sense of relief for audiences and artists that the shows are finally going ahead without restrictions.” It’s not just the small bars. “Sometimes they’re seeing artists they may usually see two or three times a year for the first time in two years. “There is a lot of great energy around – people are really happy to be out and supporting live music again,” says Tyler Dombroski of Leichhardt’s Crowbar. The enthusiasm and the hope – touch wood, fingers crossed, salt over the left shoulder, god willing, oh please – in the music industry after virtually two years of lockdowns, restrictions and cancellations, is palpable. Even better than they have been before, because everyone was so excited and ready to go out again.” ![]() It was just after restrictions eased and people were allowed to stand up and dance, and it was honestly so amazing. “The Melbourne show we did before the Sydney ones. ![]() “ even better than I remembered,” she says. It’s like nature was righting itself, as if saying to us all, “Hold on to your tickets, your proof of vaccination, your knowledge of the best place to park in Newtown on a busy night – we’re not dead yet.”Īsk Brisbane musician Hatchie, who had her own “totally electrifying” return to live music in Melbourne, and then a show at Mary’s Underground last week. Sunday evening in Sydney and I’m standing among a group of people who I don’t know, while music is coming from the stage in front of us, and things feel … strange, very strange. A merch stand to one side doing a brisk trade in records and T-shirts? Correct. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |