Nestled in the laneways of the CBD, just off of Chinatown, sits a bar as idiosyncratic to Naarm as any long-time local could dream up.
An old car park-turned-music venue and open-air bar with drinks served from shipping containers and musical acts playing in front of graffiti-covered walls, few venues feel as emblematic of Naarm as Section 8.
Going on eighteen years strong, later this month Section 8 will be coming of age and throwing a huge party of a weekend with live music, DJs, food, speciality drinks, artist’s stalls and more to celebrate the milestone. Barely Legal – running across four days and nights from Feb 29 – March 3 will be an event you’ll be barely allowed to miss.
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With live performances from Jada Weazel, Blue Jay, Sachem and Dree Beatmaker (Brazil), as well as DJ sets from Jazmine Nikitta, Dijok, Amin Payne, Garfie, Haus of Ralph, Walla C, Vincent Peach and more, it’s going to be a weekend of non-stop entertainment. To quench your thirst from all that dancing, Section 8 will be providing a special drink menu courtesy of Coopers, Headline Acts, Jameson and Jägermeister, as well as a pop-up food truck from Senor BBQ on Saturday March 2 to line those stomachs. The visuals for the event are by creative artist Lava Brain, and to top off the weekend on Sunday March 3 there will be an Artists’ Laneway Market featuring tooth gems, a nail salon and henna tattoos.
One of the musical acts to keep a keen eye out for is Woorabinda-born, Naarm-based R&B and soul rising-star Jada Weazel. With an EP released last year and already an ARIA nomination in her back pocket, this ambitious musician will be bringing all her tunes to groove and move at the shipping containers for Barely Legal. “I’m so excited to play at such an iconic venue,” Jada says. “[I’m] pinching myself that I’m on the lineup.”
Jada’s debut EP, titled No Peace, is a soulful exploration of self-hood and growth. While the release is the musician’s first, you’d be forgiven for thinking she’s a tried and true professional. “Everything I’ve done so far has been for the first time,” she says, speaking to the desire to keep growing and experimenting, “to keep evolving with my sound”. It’s that kind of hungry ambition that surfaces in the intricacies and details of her music.
Having grown up in a small community in a household that fed Jada’s musical beginnings on a diet of R&B, soul, gospel and country, it’s these roots that remain meaningful to her. “I fell in love with the sound and storytelling of [these] genres,” she says. However, it wasn’t until Jada dropped out of uni and moved back to Woorabinda just as the pandemic was beginning that she really found an outlet for her own story and voice through songwriting. “I turned a bad situation into a story through music, in the most humble set of circumstances,” Jada says.
Already achieving one of the country’s most prestigious recognitions in the music industry – an ARIA nomination – whilst still figuring out who she is as an artist, has prompted no shortage of imposter syndrome for Jada. Talking about her EP, Jada says that “making something out of nothing and getting national recognition for it makes you question if they made the right decision.” Humble in her music and humble in her accolades, Jada waves off the idea of being a mega star in the making: “I’m just a girl who wrote some songs out bush [for] countless nights on end,” she says. “[I] just have a dream and keep showing up for it.”
Jada isn’t the only one showing up for herself, with a growing base of fans and listeners paying the musician close attention as she takes on the city on by storm. With new music on the horizon and only a handful of places to catch Jada Weazel play live, Barely Legal at Section 8 should be top of your list.
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