WHILE venues and large social gatherings across the Limestone Coast remain off limits due to COVID-19 restrictions, the region’s musicians and performing artists are finding other outlets to keep their creativity alive.
The hospitality sector has been crippled by the pandemic’s economic and social impacts, which has flowed on to the live music scene with many now reliant on social media and streaming services to broadcast their music to the world.
Among those affected by the change is Chelsea Manor, which debuted on stage just over six months ago in front of thousands of showgoers at Triple J’s 2019 Lucindale One Night Stand.
They went on to perform several shows across the region, before the emerging COVID-19 pandemic forced six cancellations, including a festival in Hamilton.
“Obviously the cancellation is a loss of income for us but it is also a loss of exposure and it is disappointing because we were just getting to the point where we started to get the ball rolling,” guitarist Ivan Heenan said, adding the national industry had come to a massive halt.
Due to social-distancing restrictions, the band is also no longer able to practice or write new music together with members adapting to working apart.
“We are writing on our own and also working on the kind of things we would not usually have the time to do,” Mr Heenan said.
“This includes new music, sorting out things and fixing equipment and other things we could not do which is one of the benefits of all of this.”
While the band has turned to promoting its merchandise and digital music sales, Mr Heenan sympathised with venues owners who were struggling or unable to generate income.
“I think having live music around town is one of those things you don’t miss until it goes away but when things go back to normal there is going to be a massive jump of shows, mainly because everyone in the industry just wants to catch up,” Mr Heenan said.
Solo artists are also feeling the pinch, including electronic music producer Rhiannon Wingard, who regularly performs at The Gambier Hotel.
While 2020 was shaping as a breakout year for Ms Wingard, who had secured six months of consistent bookings, her aspirations have been put on hold.
“I had also made it into the final round of a DJ competition in Melbourne which has been postponed and I am not sure when it will go ahead now,” Ms Wingard said.
“I do hope venues will be able to reopen once this is all over.”
Ms Wingard has ramped up her presence on popular music streaming services and has also live-streamed performances from her home using social media.
“Supporting artists does not have to cost people any money as they can do this by sharing and listening on Spotify and other social media platforms,” Ms Wingard said.
“I’m certainly looking forward to when this all blows over so I can get back to doing what I love and entertaining people in clubs and pubs.”
Fifth of June vocalist Cal Roachock said although live performances were currently on hold, Limestone Coast residents could still support the region’s musicians simply by sharing their music.
“A lot of bands are still bringing out things like new songs or music videos and there is still a lot of hype around that so people have not lost track of the music itself,” Mr Roachock said.
“People are still able to support local bands just simply by sharing their music, their brand or listening to their music on repeat on streaming services and sharing it with their friends.”
Fifth of June had decided to take a hiatus from live performances before the government-enforced restrictions came into effect.
“It has given us a bit of breathing room for writing and putting more music together as there is not as much pressure to come up with something for a gig or race to get something done before a certain deadline.”
Mr Roachock predicted the eventual removal of restrictions would trigger a busy period for the live music scene as venues and artists embraced the return to familiar territory.
