What are you most looking forward to about the Darebin Music Festival, and why?
Not wanting to sound too egotistical, but I’m really looking to performing my show to a home crowd on my home turf in Northcote.
What have you liked about previous Darebin festivals?
I like that the Music Feast is a celebration of the musical diversity in Darebin – whether it’s rock, electronic, folk, a cappella, cabaret, jazz or sacred music. We live in a community that embraces a diversity in arts,
If you were programming the Darebin Music Festival, what would be the overall theme (if any), and who would you want to play?
Community and Collaboration. I would focus on involving local musicians in the community, developing community arts projects, and creating opportunities for them to share, collaborate and create new music with others. Whilst there would always be a program of performances, I would also see more workshops and interactive activities that stir that musical creativity that lies in all of us.
In recent years, the affordability belt has moved from Fitzroy through to Northcote and Thornbury, and is now through Preston and Reservoir. Will musicians, and music venues, follow that affordability belt?
I think that the challenges grow for live music the further you go out into suburbia, especially with noise restrictions, liquor licensing costs, etc. Places like High St in Northcote and Thornbury have that inner-city vibe going for them, but I’m not sure that I see it stretching much farther North. That said, I have friends who are first-home owners who have bought properties out near Reservoir and Preston, and I’m sure they’d love to see more of a local cafe and live music scene there!
