Canberra Locality brought to you by Ruth O’Brien
What’s up, wonderful readers? We meet again! Thanks so much for pickin’ up the mag and for flicking over to this page to read my words. It’s truly appreciated!
I love this time of year, yet always feel slightly anxious as well – there’s such a buzz with the lead up to Christmas and loads of things happening, but it can be quite overwhelming.
So make sure to pace yourself and take it slowly (telling myself these words as much as anyone!) and definitely take care on the roads with all this wet weather and monstrous sinkholes that are gobbling up cars all over the place.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the second-last local column for the 2022!
On Sunday, 13 November, Belco Arts and Music For Canberra bring to Summer Sounds: Canberra Youth Orchestra. Summer Sounds is a series of free musical events for patrons to enjoy as they move through the Belco Arts Centre galleries.
Led by Cait Greenup, CYO’s small ensembles and individuals will perform a number of pieces from various classical composers. Music starts from 1:30pm and you can just rock up, no booking required. For more info head to belcoarts.com.au/summer-sounds
Over at Live at the Polo on Friday, 18 November, there’ll be some serious party vibes a-happenin’. Brazilian Party! will feature music from Forall Forró Band, Choro Do Capital, DJ Allan Dantas, and Raio De Sol. There’ll also be a delicious Brazilian BBQ provided by Brazbacue and a free Forró dance lesson. It’s all kicking off at 6pm and wraps up around midnight. Tickets are $20/$25 and can be purchased from trybooking.com
In the spirit of keeping the variety of this musical city ticking along, Ainslie Salon is back for another instalment with Sonic Travels. This mini-festival is bound to introduce you to some new sounds, promising a melting pot of indie, soul, hip hop and post-rock styles. The music will transform the Ainslie Arts Centre into a full blown dancehall.
Across four days between 23-26 Nov, many Canberra acts (and some interstate ones) will feature on this very eclectic line-up. These include Moody Beaches, Sesame Girl, Ajak Kwai, Brass Knuckle Brass Band, plus many more!
For tickets and more info, head to the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres website at ainslieandgorman.com.au
Nick Delatovic and the Empty Lake Singers will be taking over Live at the Polo on Friday, 25 November.
Nick is a veteran of the Canberra arts and music scene, having graced stages as part of creative projects and bands alike. The lead singer of Babyfreeze and one half of the beyond-excellent arts org, You Are Here, will lead this new music ensemble from 9:30pm.
From what I can research about this event, it sounds…both interesting and mysterious, which is very Nick. So, I can’t really tell you much more than that but if you’re curious to find out what “Glam Country” is, I suggest you go along! It’s undoubtedly going to be a fun time.
More info can be found at trybooking.com
Saturday, 26 November at 7:30pm sees the launch of Lisa Richards’ eighth album, Waiting To Fly.
Lisa is a truly phenomenal artist with an amazing life story. Having grown up in Australia’s top-end, Lisa spent a large part of her adult life in Austin, Texas and New York.
She’s now based in Canberra and performs regularly around town. The album was born out of repeated lockdowns and isolation over the last two years and reflects on the absurdity of it all.
Now ready to release it into the big wide world, Lisa and the rest of us are very much ready for the album to take flight.
To find out more about the launch and to book, head to thestreet.org.au
MusicACT’s last Music Chats for the year is happening at Blackbird Bar on Tuesday, 29 November. Music-industry heavyweights Millie Millgate, Esti Zilber, Dom Alessio, and Glenn Dickie discuss both how the international music export landscape has changed, and how to approach this heading into 2023. These events are a must for all music industry professionals in Canberra,and they’re free! To register, head to musicact.com.au
Slight deviation into the visual arts now, ‘cause why not!
Saturday, 3 December is International Day of People with Disability. As part of this, John Brookes, Exhibition Manager of Canberry Communications, has brought together a powerful exhibition called, Pictures of You.
The collection takes a unique and creative approach to portray people with lived experience of physical disability and mental illness. Photographer, Hilary Wardhaugh, and various subjects have collaborated on this project to produce portraits that reflect them honestly, and tell parts of their story in a meaningful way.
The exhibition opens at Belco Arts on Friday, 2 December at 6pm and continues through until February 5, 2023.
And finally, beloved singer-songwriter, Kim Yang has announced her farewell show! **extremely sad face**
The Taiwanese-Australian songstress has gone from busking to massive stages and has become known as one of Canberra’s most active and hardworking musicians. Kim is moving overseas for a few years so this may well be her last show in Canberra for quite a while.
The lunchtime show is happening at 12-2pm on Saturday, 3 December at Smith’s Alternative. To book, head to smithsalternative.com
Alrighty, that’s it from me y’all! Stay dry in all this November rain and enjoy the lead up to the silly season!
If you have any gigs you’d like promoted, send them through to ruth@bmamag.com
