Live music fans rejoice as singing, dancing bans shelved in Australia’s eastern states
For the first time in almost two years, the live gig is back, with fans freely singing from the same song sheet.
For the first time in almost two years, live music fans in Australia’s eastern states are freely singing from the same song sheet at concerts and festivals across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and ACT in the absence of crowd restrictions and dancing bans.
Pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins was among the performers at Summersalt Festival before about 6000 people on the Gold Coast last Sunday, and she has been thrilled to witness her workplace returning to normalcy at last.
“It’s such a joy looking out and seeing smiling faces, and kids dancing, and people feeling free to feel a bit of joy after the last couple of years, which have been so heavy for everybody,” Higgins told The Weekend Australian.
“We need live music now more than ever, and you can really feel that at the shows: people are just so relieved to be together again and feeling this communion and solidarity, and singing out loud with a whole lot of strangers,” said Higgins. “It’s so good for the soul, and it’s really lovely to be having that back again.”
Interviews with senior live music industry figures revealed a sense of relief and cautious optimism stemming from decisions by the NSW, Victorian and ACT governments to last week remove crowd density restrictions and reopen dancefloors, bringing them in line with Queensland.
Byron Bay Bluesfest director Peter Noble is confident that his April event will finally go ahead without restrictions on the Easter long weekend, after it was cancelled at the eleventh hour last year by a NSW public health order.
“Along with the Tamworth Country Music Festival, we’re going to be the return of major events, as we’re both happening at the same time,” said Noble. “I’ve had to get up off the mat for a lot of things in the last two years. This is our fourth try; this one looks like it’s going to happen, but we’ve got to get it right.”
The eastern states’ new-found musical freedom has also served to highlight ongoing restrictions elsewhere in the nation, including South Australia, where singing and dancing at concerts is still banned.
National event promoter John Zaccaria has sold about 92,000 tickets to his Summersalt festival series, which features acts such as Missy Higgins, Xavier Rudd and Birds of Tokyo across 11 outdoor shows.
“I think the bigger challenge now is that patrons are tired of all the restrictions: in South Australia, sales have definitely been impacted, because people won’t accept the ‘no singing, no dancing’ stuff,” said Zaccaria. “We’ve seen sales turn for the better in NSW in particular, with the announcement of the easing of restrictions.”
For the live music industry, which has been stricken by event interruptions and cancellations, perhaps this is the beginning of a much-needed clear run for the return of interstate touring.
Haltering consumer confidence may been on an upswing, too, as national tour promoter Secret Sounds can attest. It recently announced a string of concerts to be held either side of its winter camping festival Splendour in the Grass, which runs from July 22-24 near Byron Bay.
“We launched our Splendour sideshows last week, and sold about 125,000 tickets in a week across 20-something tours, from [headline artists] The Strokes and Gorillaz down to Holly Humberstone in a 500-cap room, and everything in between,” said festival co-founder Paul Piticco.
“There’s certainly a level of optimism for people to get back to what they love doing: enjoying music with friends, shoulder to shoulder, without a mask on, singing, dancing – all those things people are really looking forward to, and I hope we get to do them,” said Piticco. “Currently – and I stress currently – we’re on a trajectory to deliver on that.”
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