A changing industry
Musicians set to take to the stage in Horsham are seeing the opportunity to remodel the way they present live music beyond COVID-19.
Horsham band All the Kings Men and Melbourne singer-songwriter Elizabeth will support headlining act Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer-songwriter Alice Skye for a ‘drive-in’ concert at the weekend.
The musicians are keen to trial the new method of performing, presented by Horsham’s Art is… festival, which they believe has potential to change the face of the music industry.
All the Kings Men drummer and musical-theatre regular Brady King said he hoped the concert would open up greater opportunities for live performances across the region.
“What Art is… has put together is new and exciting. It’s nice to be the forefront of the innovative production,” he said.
“It will be a blast. There will be learnings to come out of it. We look forward to seeing if we can take that concept ourselves. It’s exciting to see what people do with live music as it makes its return.”
King and his bandmates were performing ‘classic covers’ in pubs and clubs across the Wimmera before COVID-19 hit.
He said it would be refreshing to again take to the stage.
“The biggest shock to the system is the quiet weekends. We spend 35 to 40 weekends of the year playing shows,” he said.
“The vibe of people being there, seeing the smiles and having a good time – that energy live performances provides – that’s the bit I missed the most.”
Opening the show
Pop artist Elizabeth will open the concert at Horsham Showground.
The drive-in gig will also be her first performance in front a of live audience since COVID-19 forced the cancellations of concerts across the country.
As the pandemic was unfolding, the pop artist was forced to back out of a national album tour supporting her 2019 release The Wonderful World of Nature.
She said Horsham championing the idea of a drive-in concert was a positive step forward for the music industry.
“I haven’t heard about anything like this happening in Melbourne, so I feel like it’s Horsham leading the way when it comes to drive-in shows,” she said.
Elizabeth said she hoped COVID-19 would reshape the world of music for the better.
“I don’t know if live music will go back to how it was before, but maybe we can reimagine it to be something better,” she said.
“I’ve enjoyed some of the streaming elements of the industry during isolation.
“It’s brought a new level of accessibility to a lot of audiences, which is especially amazing for people who can’t access shows or for international fans. I’d like to see more streams happening, possibly even from live shows, it would be cool if we could normalise that part more.”
She said she was excited to perform in front of a live crowd again – albeit with fans experiencing the show from the comfort of their cars.
“I write songs that are really emotionally driven and all about connection,” she said.
“Getting that audience connection is really important to me and feeling that intimacy – it is an important aspect for me.
“I’m so excited. I’ve never been to Horsham, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve played with Alice a few times. It’s a real honour to play with her in her home town.”