Saturday Night Fever!

It’s been a long long time since I used to get upset if I was home alone on a Saturday night. But I remember it vividly and my heart goes out to all the young people experiencing that isolation and disappointment during the pandemic. My heart also goes out to all the musicians who haven’t been able to perform.

According to I Lost My Gig Australia (ILMG)  there were 82,983 shows cancelled between July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021.

Only 7.4% of performers were able to operate normally since the pandemic began.

Last year, inspired by Corin Sherston’s K-town Sounds, Katoomba’s Willem Hendriksen of Retro Rehash compiled a number of playlists comprising artists past and present from the Blue Mountains, or bands that have Blue Mountains members.

The goal is to grow a local listening culture to support musicians associated with the Blue Mountains.

Check out all the fabulous playlists here

My new action for this Saturday night was to stream and enjoy my first playlist to begin to support all our fabulous musicians. I’m going to keep playing them each day to do my bit to give their music a boost.

It’s a win/win. Listening to the music lifted my mood in a very depressing week, and tonight I had the best workout I’ve had in ages, dancing to the playlist showcasing Blue Mountains G’day New Wave Indy and alt rock songs.

Streaming songs helps performers get known. It also increases their meagre income from whichever streaming platform you use, as well as their APRA AMCOS royalties. It’s not much, but it all helps. It also means that if you fall in love with their music you’re more likely to attend a gig as the music scene begins to open up again.

The Playlist I chose felt very appropriate for this week with songs like Last Week (We Stopped the Rain) by the Marquis, and Low Expectations by Before the King.

Disclaimer: My son is the lead guitarist in Before the King and it’s their song I’m dancing to in this video tonight.

My second action today was to take all our Chemical Waste to the Free Household Chemical Collection at Attunga Road Blaxland today!

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