“It’s getting so exciting. All the activities are under way now, all the big and the small,” she says. “We’d been looking at doing this for a few years now, but the time hadn’t been right for a number of reasons. But we’ve got such awesome teams working with us now, in Sydney and in Melbourne, and we’re all such music lovers. Most of our teams are musicians as well, and it just came together at the right time. The theme also seemed to fit in Australia at the right time, too. With groups like Parlour [house performance connoisseurs] doing gigs, getting involved that way, it’s almost like this push for people to unplug their instruments and come back to this local level. Just jamming, playing with friends, and that’s what we wanted to tap into. So the timing feels perfect.”
Oxjam has been operating in the UK for close to ten years now, and the public enthusiasm suggests the Australian version is set to achieve a similar level of success. Their ethos is simple; throughout the month of August, the opportunity to host or participate in DIY gigs in support of Oxfam’s work will be offered to one and all. No matter where you are – from major cities to small regional towns – and no matter what your level of experience, the chance to party against poverty is there.
“Our support for gig makers is incredible,” Watson says. “We have an awesome team working here who have been doing events for a long time, and absolutely anyone can sign up to be involved. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, we’re here to help. There are top tips from experts that we send out, and they also get a gig-maker guide when they sign up, which is about thirty or so pages of information about how to really throw an awesome party. So there’s a lot of support from us, but there’s also a lot of support from industry people and our partners. Places like I Oh You, Goodgod, One Dayers, UNDR ctrl, those guys are providing us with tips on how to throw parties and do these events on a limited budget, whether you’re doing it from a big venue or from your home. And we’re really encouraging people in rural areas to get involved, because it’s all about bringing communities together.
“The great thing about this concept,” Watson continues, “is that music, no matter what genre you’re into, is something that everybody loves and that brings people together.”
Kicking off this month of awareness and festivities are headline events in both Sydney and Melbourne. But, while Watson and the team have curated a tremendous lineup of musicians (including World’s End Press, Fortunes, Set Mo, Cosmo’s Midnight and plenty more), it’s not too late to get involved yourself.
“We’ve really tried to make it our own and we’re looking at some big name Australian artists on the line up. But we’re also asking people to run their own events then and dig into the buzz that will be generated around the launch. They’ve got until the start of August to register a gig. It can really just be as simple as getting your mates together and doing a little DJ set. You could even be a week out and register something that just involves inviting everyone around to get their instruments out and have a great time.”
BY ADAM NORRIS
