67 shows. 75 acts. 21 venues. Just over 12 months of live, original music across the NSW Central West. We recap our HUGE music industry support project and look ahead across the region.
Live & Kicking
2022 has been a year where we have been busily returning original music across the stages of venues across the Central West. We have done shows for our Live & Kicking program by local Central West artists in many towns including, Bathurst, Blayney, Canowindra, Cowra, Grenfell, Lithgow, Millthorpe, Molong, Mudgee, Oberon, Orange, Parkes and Portland.
Our musicians create music across a variety of genres and I want to thank all the venues who have staged shows for them to connect with and grow their audiences across the Central West. Many patrons who attended the shows were astounded by the high quality of music these artists create and perform. We look forward to seeing these artists and others returning to these venues in the future where they can continue to grow original live music performance.
Arts OutWest’s Live & Kicking was a 12-month project funded by the Australian Government through Live Music Australia.
Live & Kicking by Numbers
- 67 Shows
- 10 Local Government Areas
- 13 Towns
- 21 Venues
- 75 Acts performed at these shows
- 25 of those acts performed at multiple venues
- Over 4000 people attended these performances
Singer-songwriter Genni Kane (who will have the very last performance of Live & Kicking on Sunday 18 December at Gang Gang Gallery Lithgow) shared this lovely feedback with us last week:
“I just want to thank you for the incredible support that Arts OutWest have given me over this year. I am very grateful for the opportunities that you have given me, and the amazing financial support. Your creation of all of the promo materials and your kind support when I needed to postpone due to illness are much appreciated.
“Our acoustic sunday event yesterday was amazing! We had a sell out show and managed to squeeze in a few extras. Everyone absolutely loved it. The musicians and the audience were all in agreement that yesterday was something very special. By charging a small ticket price, we now have a kitty to assist us with booking performers for our acoustic sunday shows in 2023. This gives us the confidence to go forward. We couldn’t have done it without you.
“When I was introducing the show I described to our audience the incredible work that you have done this year. So many shows to support creatives and communities west of the divide. We all think that you are amazing!
“I have had some special concerts indeed and look forward to returning to The Malachi Hall and The Agrestic Grocer in the future. Thank you for making the connections for me. I was incredibly, and rather surprisingly, moved by the While the World Waits exhibition in Blayney. I’m keen to further explore the connection between visual arts and music.”
Ausmusic Month
In November we celebrated AusMusic Month. We wanted music lovers to celebrate with live performances of local artists across the Central West which is what we did with 14 shows Live & Kicking shows across 8 Towns.
Songmakers
This year we were very pleased to work with the APRA AMCOS SongMakers program and provide the opportunity for young people in the Central West to participate in this fantastic program. In September Workshops were held in Bathurst and Orange producing 7 astonishing recordings. We’ve worked with APRA again to bring these back in January with more workshops to be held in Lithgow and Parkes (See More).
Music industry support
It has been great talking with so many fans of original music. We’ve provided advice and support to many artists, venues and organisations across the year and it has been wonderful to see that flow on into fruition via the production of recordings, performances and events occurring. A very exciting one is the Bathurst Artist Residency NSW BARN facility project.
Happening in the region: 2023 will see the return of the Central West Regional Songwriting Contest and many other great opportunities for Local musicians at The Inland Sea of Sound, make sure you’re plugged into that. And make sure you’re a part of the MusicNSW Central West Facebook group.
Applications are also open for the five new Music NSW Regional Music Coordinator positions.
I wish everyone the very best for Christmas and The New Year
Patrick Coomey Music Industry Support
November-early December 2022 photo gallery:
