What an amazing time for Geelong over the last month since we last spoke.
30 of Australia’s best punk rock bands, including the legendary Geelong bands Poppin’ Mammas and Warped put one of the most dynamic displays of spirited four to the floor riffage at the Barwon Club Hotel over two days in mid November. It was so heartening to see so many Geelong fans come out and support the venue and event. Some people around the world are saying rock is dead, but not in Geelong.
And then tens of thousands of people turned out for amazing Queenscliff Music festival last
weekend. The Barwon Club was nominated for Best Venue (over 50 gigs) at the Age Music Victoria Awards last week, but lost out to another Geelong venue, The Workers Club. The other Best Regional Venue Award (under 50 gigs) was taken out by Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal, and one of the new owners Tim Heath sent a message us to saying: “We were so thrilled be announced as winners and everyone in the town has been very proud of the old theatre! We’ve had lots of people coming in to talk about it, so word has spread very quickly.’’
Geelong’s renaissance will continue over the summer, with the City of greater Geelong Council launching its eagerly awaited Live Music Action Plan, Geelong LiveMAP, at the Workers Club on December 8, and then it will be down to the Meredith music Festival for the weekend to celebrate what once again won the best regional Festival at the awards.
Geelong was also recently made a UNESCO City of Design, and the White Nights festival will be coming to Geelong for the first time in February. Music Victoria will also be coming to Geelong and the Bellarine in February with a bunch of managers and media on the Victorian Music Crawl. So there’s never been a better time to celebrate music in the Geelong area. Go and get amongst it!
Member of the Month: Theatre Royal
The grand old theatre just won Best Regional Venue (Under 50 gigs) at the Age Music Victoria
Awards. Go and see why.
Gig of the Month:
Meredith Music Festival features an eclectic array of local acts such as Teskey Brothers and Harvey Sutherland and Bermuda alongside stars such as ESG, !!!, Total Control, Warpaint, Downtown Boys, Big Thief, Mark Seymour & The Undertow, Aldous Harding, Japanese Breakfast and Future Islands. Rounding out the action will be Late Nite Tuff Guy, Miss Blanks, The Stevens, The Exotics, Ross McHenry Trio, Emma Russack, Moopie, Suss Cunts, City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band and more. What. A. Cracker. See you in the Sup’.
Industry updates from Music Victoria
Written by Patrick Donovan, CEO of Music Victoria