Canberra Locality column with Ruth O’Brien

Howdy y’all! How’s youse folks doin’? I hope you are very well and keen to get back out and about to the many things happening around our bustling little city.

Got loads lined up for ya so let’s get bloody into it!

First cab off le rank is this gig on Friday, 8 April at the Canberra Irish Club with Betty Alto and Smartcasual. 

The members of Betty Alto have been performing in various Canberra bands for years and come together to bring you an upbeat, fun, high-energy show. 

Likewise, the members of Smartcasual are bring good-vibes to the stage and offer up a soulful, surfy-rock, and an overall hugely likeable style. This is a free gig and it starts at 8pm.

On Friday, 15 April, another amazing line-up of local music is happening at The Basement. Spinning Plates are headlining this one and are another great example of the talent we have in this part of the world. 

With a blend of heavy guitars, tight riffs and intricate piano melodies, this trio offers up an incredibly cool sound worth checking out. 

Also onstage that evening are Flowermarket and Mr. Industry who are, again, incredible bands in their own right. If a night of rock is what you’re after, get along to this show! Tickets are $18.40 and are available from OzTix. Doors open at 7pm.

If you’ve not yet taken your dancing shoes off and are keen to keep goin’, head over to Transit Bar on Saturday, 16 April for more fun times!

Nuance Media are taking over the venue and have four incredible bands lined up including STUMPS (Syd) and local favourites Sunday Sojourn, Box Dye, and ARCHIE.

This is definitely going to be super loads of fun so get your music-loving bootay there. Tickets are $17.33 and can be got from Moshtix. Doors open at 8pm.

The following weekend on Saturday, 23 April, HYG are playing a show at Smith’s Alternative.

This band has a really unique sound blending influences from rock, jazz, and electronic sounds which take the listener on a bendy, layered, psychedelic journey. If you want an intro to their music, search for their video on YouTube for the song Be Here – very rock-dreamy and ready to pull you in! Tix for the Smith’s gig are only $10 and doors open at 9pm.

If a full band with jazzy vocals and horns is more your jam, be sure to get along to the EP launch of Lucy Ridge and the Derby Widows on Friday, 29 April at The Polo. 

Join the band (and yet-to-be-announced special guests) for the launch of their debut EP Daydrinking, Overthinking. 

Fronted by the strong vocals of Lucy Ridge, the band have put together an amazing record of four songs full of energy, storytelling, and relatable lyrics. There’s something I absolutely love about hearing an Aussie accent on this kind of music! Lucy’s vocals are so easy to listen to and the band is super tight. 

Having seen them live before, I know this will absolutely be an awesome show! Tickets are $20 and can be bought from Trybooking. Doors open at 8pm.

For all you wonderful people pursuing music on some professional level, check out the upcoming events by MusicACT. On Sunday, 10 April at 4pm on Zoom, the next instalment of the Digital Program will be taking place with the focus being production. More specifically, how to turn a song into a track. 

Guests for this discussion include platinum-selling producers Ben Woolner and Louis Montgomery. 

Later in the month, the next Music Chats will be happening at 1pm on Saturday, April 30 at ONE22.

The topic of the event will be A&R, Labels and Artist Development and they’ll be speaking with Australian A&R trailblazers Ally Cole (Island Records Australia), Helena Ho (EMI Australia), and Larissa Jane Ryan (Warner Music Australia) to pick their brains on the role of A&R in the contemporary music market. 

They’ll also discuss some tips and tricks for artists looking to take the next step in their career. 

Tickets for both MusicACT events can be booked on Humanitix and are free!

Alrighty, that’s about it from me! I’ve decided to take a little break from Upbeat for the time being. It’ll definitely be back but probs not until late-May at this stage. 

This free resource is full of all the latest professional opportunities, jobs, competitions and grants I come across that ACT-residents are eligible for.

To sign up head to eepurl.com/g2T5iz or head to upbeatcbr.com

Great to hang with you in word-form once again. I hope you can get along to one of the events mentioned above!

Take care,

Ruth O’Brien – Singer | Songwriter | Writer | Lover of all things artsy and creative – email: ruth@bmamag.com