Canberra Locality brought to you by Ruth O’Brien

Hello, dear readers! Hope this finds you and yours extremely well. Firstly, a huge shout out to Jannah Fahiz who stepped in to help me out with the column last month. You’re a champ! Make sure you follow the work of Jannah over @betweenthelinesevents on Facebook and Insta. As usual, loads of cool stuff is happening in CBR so let’s jump on into it. 

Life Canberra Fundraiser brings important topic Out Of The Shadows

On Saturday, 10 September, Milestone Entertainment presents Out Of The Shadows, a fundraiser concert for Lifeline Canberra happening over at The Polo. This event goes from 12pm to 10pm and punters can buy a full day pass ($38) or go to individual shows throughout the day ($17 per show).

There’ll be a range of Canberra locals sharing their talents with the crowd including Eden Plenty, NeonHoney, MissM, The Dalmatians, Monica Moore & the Funkologists, and many more! To get your tickets head to trybooking.com  

Over at Smith’s on Friday, 16 September at 6:30pm we have an amazing vibraphonist and marimbist visiting all the way from Italy! Marco Pacassoni will be accompanied by local jazz extraordinaries Mark Sutton (drums) and Eric Ajaye (bass), and together this trio will undoubtedly perform an incredible set. Tickets are $20 (conc) and $25 (general) and can be purchased via the Smith’s website.

Canberra Hope

On Saturday, 17 September there’s a whole lot to choose from! Hope Wilkins is releasing her new single, Slow at Transit Bar. The new track is, in Hope’s own words, “deeply personal and is probably the most confronting piece I’ve ever written.”

Hope has an incredibly emotive voice and, paired with this tune, is sure to stir up feelings you didn’t even know you had. Supporting Hope are other Canberra favourites Muesli and Gia Ransome. 

Doors open at 7:30pm. You can buy tickets via Hope’s website at hopewilkinsmusic.com 

Glitterbox and Jazz That’s Hot

Also on the evening of 17 September, a party for LGBTQIA+ folk is happening at the Flazeda Hub in Belconnen! GlitterBox – the mighty pairing of Rachel “Jazida” Reid and Jolene Mifsud – will include dancing, beats, and performance art in a safe environment. Tickets are $25 via trybooking.com and doors open at 7:30pm. 

On Sunday, 18 September from 4-6pm, vocalist Rachael Thoms and saxophist Tom Fell will front a band of some of Canberra’s coolest jazz cats at Tuggeranong Arts Centre.

The Fringe of Squaredom – Jazz Down Under is a concert of purely Australian jazz music. It will feature both original compositions and selections from the Aussie Realbook. This one’s not to be missed for any jazz enthusiasts out there! Tickets can be bought from Humanitix for $35 + booking fee. 

Speaking of jazz cats, Canberra favourite Viktor Rufus will be performing with his trio at Hippo on the evening of Wednesday, 21 September. He’ll appear again with Creswick (fka Liam Budge) on the evening of the Sunday, 25 September at 6pm at Gang Gang Cafe. Both gigs will undoubtedly be a divine night of music! For more info head to ganggangcafe.com.au

You Should Know Koebi Faumui

Moving into October (I know!) and Koebi Faumui will be taking the stage at Smith’s on Saturday, 1 October at 6pm for the release of his new single, You Don’t Know Me.

This amazing young muso has been playing and performing since he was just eight years old with his elder siblings as The Faumuis. Now, he is branching out into his own solo career. 

Tix are just $20 and you can buy them via the Smith’s website.

Also wanna give a li’l plug to a fairly new initiative happening over at the Ainslie Arts Centre on the first Thursday of the month. The Mt Ainslie Music Club gives musicians a chance to do some free improvisation with others using whatever instrument you choose.

Facilitated by saxophonist Tom Fell (yes, he of The Fringe of Squaredom), these improv sessions are a great way for any musician to develop their confidence with both performance and their instrument of choice. The sessions come with the guidance of highly skilled professionals. 

The next jam is happening on Thursday, 6 October from 8pm – 10pm. Registration and more info can be found over at agac.com.au

And lastly, if you’re a performing artist or arts worker in the Canberra region, head along to Belco Arts on Wednesday, 19 October from 5:30pm -7pm for the next Mid-week Mingle! 

This is a great chance to meet others in the Canberra arts scene. You can talk about projects, find collaborators, and discover new opportunities. 

This event is FREE but registrations are essential. To register, head to belcoarts.com.au/performing-arts-networking/

That’s it from me! Have an amazing first month of Spring, there’s so much to do!