Live And Local In Moreton Bay

The music industry has been heavily affected by lockdowns and restrictions over the past year. The Live and Local Initiative seeks to increase arts engagement in regional areas through building capacity, strengthening networks, and celebrating stories.

An estimated 23,000 gigs have been lost due to the pandemic since 1 July this year, depriving artists and entertainment sector workers of $64 million in income, said Emily Murphy, project lead of the SEQN Music Project.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative to activate our local spaces to support the small businesses of our creative community,� she said.

The Live and Local project will deliver micro-festival events in regional areas, including Moreton Bay, throughout September and October.

The events are being curated by five local women of these regions, so they are created by locals for locals,� Emily said.

She said Amy-Kate Bryant, the Live and Local curator for the Moreton Bay local government area, had been working with traditional music venues and had identified a number of new businesses keen to invest in live, original music in the Moreton Bay region.

The project is being heavily supported by our stakeholders including Moreton Bay Regional Council and our local working group of entertainment and community leaders,� Emily said.

Local musicians were asked to express their interest in getting involved via the Live and Local website, with applications now closed. While waiting for the upcoming program, Emily said there was plenty we could do to support our local artists.�

Buying merchandise is something you can do even if you are in lockdown and it's delivered right to your door,� Emily said. Buying tickets to online performances is great, streaming does provide some revenue but there's nothing like showing up at a venue, sharing in the energy transfer of live music and excitement of having a great experience.

We are working hard with our councils and other stakeholders to be able to deliver in-person events and have contingencies in place in the event we are not able to show up in person.�

Confirmed dates, performers, and venues will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, go to caa.creativealliance.org.au.