Hello Forte readers,
Music Victoria has spent the last few weeks meeting with the regional music sector and visiting regional music hubs including Rye, Rosebud, Geelong, Leongatha, Warrnambool and Camperdown. We have been canvassing local issues faced by the music sector, and workshopping solutions which we will address in a new regional action plan to be delivered in 2020.
The Music Victoria Awards are back for their 15th year, and the announcement of the 2019 nominees confirms it’s been yet another huge year for the Victorian live and recording music industry.
The regional and outer suburban nominees cover a good spread of the state, including artists and venues from Castlemaine, Belgrave, Geelong and everywhere in between. Warrandyte’s Teskey Brothers and Nagambie’s Tropical F*ck Storm are amongst the artists leading the awards nomination tally – it’s so great to see such strong regional representation. From now until midnight Friday 8 November, you can vote for your favourite music contributions of the year in the publicly-voted categories over at musicvictoria.com.au/votenow. Many of the awards come with cash prizes for the winners, so make sure you do your bit to help reward your favourite act!
The awards ceremony itself happens on Wednesday 20 November at Melbourne Recital Centre. Limited tix go on sale to the public from 21 October at melbournerecital.com.au ($50 general admission, $20 for Music Victoria members).
We also have some updates regarding upcoming regional events. Speakers have now been confirmed for the ‘This Must Be The Place’ Kyneton workshop on 26 October, with musicians Jade Imagine & Ryan Downey speaking with Music Victoria’s own Ash Bartlett & The Push’s Lou James. You can RSVP and check out the full info here.
We’ve also partnered with APRA/AMCOS to present ‘Meet The Locals: Geelong’ taking place on 31 October. This workshop for songwriters will involve a discussion panel and small & fast group sessions, both featuring music industry professionals. You can register for this event and see the full list of panellists here.
Finally, ‘This Must Be The Place’ will also be making its way to Queenscliff on 23 November as part of Queenscliff Music Festival. Speakers for this workshop are still yet to be confirmed so make sure to keep up with both the Music Victoria website and social channels for when they are announced.
‘til next time!
The MV Team
Regional Member Moment – Lyrical Road
If you’re a musician looking to tour, check out Lyrical Road, specialists in music industry travel. They help touring bands with their travel management including services such as domestic & international air bookings, arranging excess baggage, ground transport solutions, accommodation bookings plus much more.
The winner of Best Live Act at this year’s Music Victoria Awards will also win a $5000 prize pack thanks to Lyrical Road to use for their touring travel needs.
To contact Lyrical Road or to check out their range of services, visit their website here.
Regional Gig of the month
Lloyd Spiegel – Cut and Run Tour
Paper Scissors Rock Brew Co., Halls Gap -Thursday 31 October
Based in Melbourne, Spiegel’s career spans 30 years, going from playing regular gigs throughout Melbourne from the age of 10, having recently released his 10th solo record, ‘Cut and Run’. Along with being a successful touring artist, Spiegel has also received plenty of critical success taking out 4 awards at this years’ Australian Blues awards including Artist of the year.
Lloyd Spiegel looks to bring his versatile acoustic-blues stylings to Halls Gap as part of his national Cut and Run Tour in what is sure to be a very unique and intimate show from the singer/songwriter.
Tickets available at https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=536611&