NSW government promotes concert series amid singing and dancing ban

‘It’ll all look shiny and nice – but underneath the surface, we’re just rotting,’ said a national tour promoter in response to a music program that will include 500 gigs across 350 venues in NSW.

Australian indie rock band The Jungle Giants – pictured here performing at Brisbane Riverstage last month – is among the acts booked for the Great Southern Nights concert series to be held across in NSW in March. Picture: Charlie Hardy

One week after extending its ban on singing and dancing at concerts, the NSW Government has attempted to save face with despondent live music industry workers by announcing the full line-up for a statewide concert series.

Named Great Southern Nights, the live music initiative will begin on March 18, with artists such as Kate Ceberano, The Jungle Giants and Marcia Hines joining about 80 performers including Jimmy Barnes, Amy Shark and Baker Boy.

Delivered in partnership by Destination NSW and the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), the three-week music program will include 500 gigs across 350 venues, from Byron Bay to Albury and Sydney to Broken Hill.

Yet at present, restrictions on singing and dancing by Public Health Order – enacted on January 10, and extended on January 27 – mean that the only live music events being held anywhere in NSW are either outdoor music festivals where patrons must remain seated, or indoor theatre shows.

This decision was taken in response to high numbers of Omicron cases and without consultation to the live music sector.

It has been catastrophic for hundreds of workers including event promoters, whose bumper crop of summer gigs has been greatly affected by yet more postponements and cancellations.

Last week, national tour promoter Destroy All Lines announced the cancellation of Full Tilt Sydney, a heavy metal festival which had sold 7,500 tickets to its February 26 event, resulting in an estimated six-figure loss to the company.

“The government’s trying to come out and make themselves look good, and talk about how much they’re doing for the industry – but it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Chris O’Brien, general manager of Destroy All Lines, told The Weekend Australian.

“For the [live music] ecosystem to work, it can’t just be random government-backed events,” he said. “They’re slapping themselves on the back, high-fiving each other in the corridors and putting out a press release saying how ‘vital’ the industry is, but they’re clearly ignoring the industry.”

“It’ll all look shiny and nice – but underneath the surface, we’re just rotting,” said O’Brien.

At a media conference in Sydney on Thursday announcing the full line-up for Great Southern Nights, which was first held in November 2020, NSW tourism minister Stuart Ayres said he was “pretty confident” the singing and dancing ban would end on February 27.

NSW tourism minister Stuart Ayres (left), singer Casey Donovan and ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd at a Great Southern Nights media call at The Metro Theatre in Sydney on Thursday. Picture: Destination NSW

In response to detailed questions from The Weekend Australian on the ban, Minister Ayres provided an emailed statement which did not address these questions.

“Covid has been devastating for the live music industry,” said Ayres in a statement. “Health restrictions have significantly impacted many businesses and artists.”

“Great Southern Nights was critical to getting venues open and artists back on stage when coming out of the first wave and it will be critical again on the rebound from the Omicron wave,” he said.

“We are transitioning to living with Covid and we will need to continually update our approach to ensure we are keeping people safe and protecting our health system,” said Ayres.

In a statement, ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd told The Weekend Australian, “ARIA strongly supports a return to live music and performance in NSW. We are all more than aware of the current conditions which preclude this.”

“The NSW Government’s support of Great Southern Nights will provide direct funding to live music venues and performers, which is a critical step to returning confidence to our industry and get musicians back to doing what they love for fans across the state,” said Herd.