Grass roots music industry development initiative launched in Mount Gambier

The City of Mount Gambier will be focussing on live music in the coming months with the launch of ‘Live and Local’ - a grass roots music industry development initiative.

The first of its kind for regional South Australia, ‘Live and Local’ is a tried and tested model that seeks to support the growth of venue-based live music through the delivery of unique performance opportunities and professional development activity for local live music communities.

The City of Mount Gambier will partner with the Live Music Office and APRA AMCOS to deliver the program which been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Additional project support has been made possible by the Department for Innovation and Skills through the Music Development Office.

City of Mount Gambier General Manager City Growth Tim Coote said the program is an opportunity to grow the local music industry by bringing together local musicians, businesses and the community.

Coote advised “Mount Gambier has an exciting opportunity to continue to build as a live music city and we understand the importance of fostering strong relationships between local musicians, venues and audiences in strengthening our local industry.”

The Mount Gambier Live and Local program will consist of a series of micro-festival music events supplemented with dedicated skills and professional development workshops, a local industry roundtable and support for development of a live music action plan informed by the experience, engagement and information gained through the program.

Coote added “as a result of COVID-19, local venues and artists have had a tough run over the past few years, so we’re delighted by the opportunity to safely re-energise our live music scene and explore how we can continue to build live music in our region into the future.”

Buoyed by the prospects of Live and Local, recently appointed City of Mount Gambier Live Music Project Officer Monica Hart said that the project will create paid performance opportunities for local musicians in a range of activated spaces during the micro-festivals.

Hart advised “we’re putting the call out for expressions of interest from local musicians who would like to participate in the professional development and performance opportunities that the project will create.

“The micro-festivals are particularly suited to soloists, duos or small trios that can easily activate some unique local businesses in and around the CBD as part of these events.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our champions of live music to come together to inject further vibrancy into our CBD and help to define the ingredients required to further build a thriving live music scene for Mount Gambier.”

South Australian Minister for Innovation and Skills, David Pisoni welcomed the opportunity to support the initiative through the contribution of $19,000 towards the management and delivery of the project in Mount Gambier.

“Live music is a critical component of the cultural fabric of our communities, and we’re delighted to be supporting the City of Mount Gambier to embrace the opportunities that the Live and Local initiative will present in further building a vibrant and sustainable local music sector,” added Minister Pisoni.

Local musicians are invited to express their interest in participating in the program by registering at www.haveyoursaymountgambier.com.au/liveandlocal

Image: Live and Local Working Group members (rear - left to right) Isaac Bruggeman, Jason Flint, Natasha Little, Marie Holmes, Taylor Fry, and Trish Bruggeman with City of Mount Gambier Live Music Project Officer Monica Hart (front) onsite at Body Fit Training - one of the upcoming micro-festival music event locations.