“Christine Leahy, who is the co-founder with me – she got in contact,” Mitchell says. “It turns out we have mutual friends. She contacted me and said, ‘Did you want to have a chat about this idea.’ I think she had the bare bones of an idea, about doing something to help migrants and new arrivals to Melbourne feel more welcome, and wanted to do something involving music, because she’s a great lover of live music. I came into it and tried to help her shape a concept. She was really the catalyst and very much the heart and soul of Music With Mates.”
The idea is simple: musicians and venues donate tickets to their gigs, and together with volunteers, new migrants can form friendships and have an opportunity to enjoy themselves as they’re accepted into the social possibilities of Melbourne. Mitchell has already gathered overwhelming encouragement from the music community at large, with acts Busby Marou, Paul Dempsey and Josh Pyke all supporting the cause.
“(Pyke) said a few things that stuck with me,” Mitchell says. “He said that it’s the job of artists at times like this, when our politicians and our leaders are letting us down – and in this instance, we’re talking about immigration and inclusivity – if they’re letting us down, then it’s the job of artists to fight back against that. For me, that was a really sage thing to say.
“I think that’s what’s happening, and the reason why there’s so much overwhelming support from every artist, manager, and booking agent, all the different people in the industry – they’re very quick to throw their support behind it. I think it’s because you can often feel really helpless when you’re watching the news or reading the media – you’re seeing a situation that goes against your own personal beliefs.
“Often, a lot of us feel really helpless, and often we don’t know what to do about it, and when an opportunity comes along, where you can do something about it, then you do. I see a lot of people going, ‘Great, here’s an opportunity for me to do something to fight back against this wave of suspicion, fear and phobia surrounding new arrivals to Australia.’ “
Melbourne prides itself upon its live music culture, and for many living there, it’s a vital part of the cultural experience. Mitchell understands first-hand the life-changing impact of the art. He still vividly remembers his first introduction to the live music scene – an all-ages show with Yummy Fur, The Rosemary Beads and Spank at Perth’s Grosvenor Hotel around 1993.
“I remember going away from that gig, going ‘I’ve found my fuckin’ place – this is where I want to spend the rest of my life,’ and I have. All of my closest friends in the world are my bandmates – most of the friends that I have, I’ve found and made through music. I have friends in every city in Australia that I have found through music. That’s obviously my own very personal experience, but hopefully it speaks in a small way of the community-building that the music community can facilitate – and the kind of friendships that you can make.”
The support for Music With Mates has been fantastic, but there’s no time for rest – the challenge now is to deliver that concept to the nation and, most importantly, ensure those connections with the migrant communities themselves.
“In my experience of the world, the people that I know, the people who I talk to, and the Australia I know is a welcoming, inclusive, compassionate people and country,” Mitchell says. “There’s always opportunities to do something about the things that are frustrating you in the world. You’ve just got to take them up.”
