Dear Forté readers,
I hope you had a great and safe festive break – what an incredible summer for music in Ballarat!
We just came back from witnessing the amazing Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show at the stunning North Gardens on Lake Wendouree, which was the most memorable show the band has played since they trekked up Mount Buller to play the ATP (All Tomorrow’s Parties) event in 2009.
Clearly Cave, who was born in Warracknabeal and raised in Wangaratta, thrives in regional settings, and people working on the show said that the Prince of Darkness spent time after the sound check taking in the lush venue and surroundings. On stage, he described being shown around town by Bad Seed violinist and Ballarat-born Warren Ellis, and a visit to a local fish ‘n’ chip shop where a woman behind the counter requested he play ‘Nobody’s Baby Now’, which he later performed.
He also paid tribute to Ellis and his “heart of gold”, suggesting the council build a monument or name a street after him. The council informed us that such tributes are only paid to the deceased, so let’s hope that comes after he has pumped out many more sublime albums and shows.
The Ballarat Summer of Sound series also includes shows by John Farnham, Xavier Rudd, Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers and Bernard Fanning, the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival and the all night celebration of arts, White Night on 4 March 2017. Make sure you get along to one of these amazing events in what is surely the regional live music capital of Australia at the moment.
Unfortunately this year’s Falls Festival reminded us of the dangers of thousands of people attending an event, when dozens of people were crushed in a stampede. Please take it easy at summer music events, and keep an eye out for fellow music lovers.
The Central Geelong Live Music Action Plan is well under way, and there was a fantastic response and some great feedback received from the Geelong music community. Our very own Operations & Program Manager, Nick Cooper, is part of the steering group, and he attended Creative Victoria’s Music Works Funding Panel prior to the workshop – check out http://creative.vic.gov.au/funding-and-support/programs/music-works for more info.
Catch you at a gig soon.
Member Moment:
Palace of the King
In 2016 proud MV members and Surf Coast sons Palace of The King played shows in the USA, New Caledonia and toured Europe (for the second time), toured extensively around Australia and released their second record and a bunch of video clips. They are about to hit the tour circuit again during February and March 2017 in support of Baby Animals. Nailing it!
Gig of the month:
CHILD – 10 February 2017, The Eastern, Ballarat
CHILD are coming to Ballarat to play The Eastern with Agonhymn and special guests as part of their The Blueside Tour. Wedged somewhere between psych-blues and heavy rock, CHILD have been blasting and grooving underground rock ‘n’ roll audiences across Victoria since 2012.
Written by Patrick Donovan, CEO of Music Victoria, and Nick Cooper, Operations & Program Manager of Music Victoria.
