Melbourne has a diverse and immensely talented music culture. You walk down the streets of Melbourne and you will witness musicians and artists from all over the world, contributing to the already multi-cultural city that we live in. You can walk into a local hotel, a pub or a club and experience a range of different music genres that will suit your musical tastes.
Gigging in Melbourne is not always easy however. I have been gigging around Melbourne for a few years now and its been such a wonderful experience, but it has also been a challenging one. Upon speaking to many different artists, they too have experienced the difficulties of gigging. A lot of the times, artists who gig would rarely get paid, and even when they do get paid, it is not much. I think it would be fair to say however, that local musicians do not do it for the money. It is purely the passion and enjoyment that they have for music and performing that keeps them going. It is the crowd and the people you meet that has the most satisfying rewards.
I think what the real difficulty is (for me anyway), is to consistently get numbers. Some gigs you may have 20-30 people rock up to your show, and on other occasions… none. This makes it hard to keep venues happy and could affect how often you are asked to play. I do remember the time when I serenaded 6 dudes at the Empress Hotel. They were such a great audience and responded well to all my love songs. 🙂 When we do have those numbers, it makes for such a memorable experience.
If there is anything I want to highlight in this blog, it would be this. SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC. If you know of friends or friends of friends that are playing, go and support them. It would mean a lot to see familiar faces as well as strangers who come along to listen to our music. The more people there are, the more vibrant the atmosphere. I can guarantee you that you will witness some amazing talent that you would not find anywhere else in mainstream media. As musicians, there have been a lot of sacrifices that were made to get to where we are today. So I encourage everybody, find out what shows are happening around Melbourne, and keep Melbourne’s local music scene alive.
davehoangmusic 