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Dawn Barrington > Festival

Wecome 2021

January 7, 2021 0 Comments

Phew!! At last the New Year is here !!

Wow! What a year it was and in all honesty I really don’t know what the next 12 mths holds for me personally and musically. However, I do know that I will continue to make music, play music, sing my songs and fight for human rights. They are all one…..creativity is what gives me purpose and asking the difficult questions is what I do best, and I guess I thrive on the challenges that all of that brings.

Musical Shenanigans

The past few weeks I have been playing at a variety of venues and the most recent gig was at Gypsy Tapas House in Fremantle. It’s a great venue and they have delicious food there and they are passionate about original music. So they tick all the boxes but there is a downside and that is that they don’t pay their musicians. You do get a meal and free drinks and the PA is supplied but playing music for 2 hours and not getting paid is quite a big downer. I am not sure what is going to happen in the music industry and I do remember being warned on many occasions that getting paid in Perth was not easy. I haven’t approached enough venues yet to see if that is true but I have played at a few recently and the top dollar so far was $150 for 2 hours which is still below the recommended rate of $100 per hour of playing time. If you have spent years learning songs and are practising most days and you turn up an hour early to set up it turns out to be not a huge amount of money per gig. However, I won’t let little problems like that get in the way of things lol.

Recording

I decided to get back into recording and now that I am in Fremantle I have to find someone to record with. I was going to go through someone I know in Kalamunda which is a bit of a hike but then Tony King (who I usually record with) recommended David Hymans who lives just up the road, so it was perfect. He’s a great artist and has a recording studio and recently produced an album for Bernard Carney called Feathers and Tributes.  It’s not easy finding the right person because you need to feel comfortable with them and I need to also know that they are going to compliment what I do as a folk singer songwriter. There are many great producers around but it was nice to know that David was right here in Freo. We put down the first track a few weeks ago and we will have a go at getting the song finished next week. I will keep you posted on that one.

Denmark Arts Markets

January 23rd at 10am I am playing a the Denmark Arts Markets. I am so looking forward to going back down to my favourite place on earth. I love the big stage of the Denmark Arts Markets, the sound is always awesome and it’s such a buzz, although being ready for 10am could be a bit of challenge for me lol. Next up I will be preparing for Nannup!!

“Music Talks” Events

I have also decided to get stuck into more music talks events. The refugees that were medivaced here in 2019 are still stuck in hotels and detention centres. They are sick and it is very obvious now that the government is keeping them there out of spite, because they lost the medivac legislation that brought them here. It’s disgusting, punitive and arbitrary and I am ashamed to live in a nation that claims to be a member of the UN and yet carries out gross abuse of human rights on the most vulnerable people in the world. I have already phoned lots of community groups and churches and have a few bookings so looking forward to that in coming months.  Here is the bio that I have been sending to the groups to give them an understanding of what I have been doing the past 3 or so years. If you are in the Perth region or anywhere in WA for that matter and you want me to come to your community to do a “Music Talks” event please contact me dawnbarringtonmusic@gmail.com. I have had a fantastic response at every single event that I have done. I do it all voluntarily and it is purely to raise awareness through song and spoken word. 

 

Activism, Denmark Gigs, Festival, Gigs, Photos, Recording, Refugees, Song writing

Summer’s Here!

November 8, 2020 0 Comments

It’s been a while but I think I have good reason to be in “tools down”  mode recently. It was a big move  from Denmark to Fremantle but things are starting to get more settled now. 

I’ve been having a bit of fun busking and doing a few open mics and a couple of gigs too. I have found myself a music partner Jason Johns and we are now busy getting some songs together to go out and do regular cafe/event/pub style gigs. Jason sings and plays great guitar and also writes his own songs so we have a few plans to get originals on our set list too. If you are a musician that is staying in the same city for a period of time you have to do gigs that are mainly covers. There are some venues that do accept originals or even prefer original music, but on the whole, if you want to earn money to try and make a living you have to do mainly covers. I have been lucky enough in the past 6+ years to do a lot of original music performances and earn money but that is because I was touring, so I was able to seek out the venues that are happy to have original artists or actually prefer original music. 

Nannup Festival 2021

I am very pleased to announce that I will be playing at Nannup in Feb-Mar 2021.  This is is going to be great. We are not sure yet what format it will take but at present it is will be a COVID safe event with reduced numbers, however, that could change.  Watch this space. There might be an opening to sell more tickets soon, at present they are already sold out.

I will be doing a couple of “Manus Music talks” workshops at Nannup as well which I am very excited about.  It’s been a while since my last festival gig but they are my favourite because it’s a place where the whole weekend is music, music, music and meeting lots of other artists.

Two Up

Jason and I are Two Up and we did our first paid gig at the Carriage Coffee Shop in Fremantle today.  We have been busy doing open mics to get our songs practiced and we are working towards 2 and 3 hr sets for the summer time. I have not managed to get any recording done this year which is a bit disappointing but Covid had an impact on my best made plans and then finances became a problem too. However, I am keen to record again soon and I am sure I will get the opportunity . Thanks again everyone for following my journey and for your support in what I do. It really is amazing to have so many interested in my musical shenanigans, you are the ones that inspire me to keep going even when the chips are down sometimes.

Festival, Gigs, Photos, Recording

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Post Tour then WAM nominee!

October 7, 2019 0 Comments

It’s been a crazy few months. My “Manus Music Talks” events went unbelievably well and I think the worst thing that happened was leaving my purse at a servo and finding out the next day 2 hrs down the road, then sleeping in a caravan with giant spiders….. apart from that it was all good. lol…. I started in Kuranda QLD and drove down the coast stopping at Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, MacKay, Cooran, Brisbane, Ballina, Port McQuarie, Newcastle, Gosford and Sydney. I grabbed a car in Cairns and did approx 3,000 kms which was incredible and I never imagined that I would get through it all in the 4 weeks I had. I met the most amazing people and they were so generous in the way they took on the job of organising the events and giving me a room for the night and sometimes 2 nights. Cairns for Refugees were the first group to host me and the Uniting Church in Kuranda.

My next stop was the Townsville Cultural Fest where I released my new EP “Can’t Let Go”. It was an incredible weekend and I met so many amazing people and it was wonderful to catch up with Farvardin again who is the person doing all the behind the scenes work of this great event.  Something I noticed as I drove down the coast was how dry it was, very dry and it surprised me because even though I knew there was a drought in Queensland I didn’t think it be that bad and that it would stretch the coast too.

The Greens Keppel

My next stop was Rockhampton and Yeppoon where I did performances for The North Rockhampton Uniting Church group and the Greens Keppel.  There are many many people doing a huge amount of work behind the scenes when it comes to the refugees in offshore and onshore detention and I can’t believe that between us all that we haven’t managed to find a way to end this disgusting policy. People should never be detained for no crime and especially for 7 years. 

Ballina for Refugees

Ballina for Refugees, Rik and me

My next stop was Cooran and then Ballina where I did a performance for Ballina Region for Refugees and a small refugee group in Cooran. I played songs from my previous album and my recently released EP. The most important one was a song called “In My Name” which I wrote last year. I wrote it because I thought change was coming and I imagined that the election would bring change…..HOW WRONG I WAS :O(  This song is about acknowledging that people are coming together and that change is coming so I play this near to the end of the performance and get everyone to sing the chorus with me…it’s the best feeling when everyone joins me. :o)

The photos above are of my gig at the Ballina Region for Refugees they were amazing and it was lovely to stay with Rik and Lisa Dillon.

My next stop was Brisbane where I did one in Hawkesbury with the Redland for Refugees and once again I was hosted by a lovely couple and a great venue was organised. When I organised this tour I really had no idea how it would all go and I didn’t know if it would have the desired outcome. My goal was to tell the story of how I got involved and how I had used my art (music and songs) to bring awareness to the issue and spread the word. I wanted to show everyone that they too have a voice and that we are in a position of power. I write folk songs and in the true traditional sense folk music is about activism and I love that part of it and I love having a purpose for my songs that is more than entertainment alone.  I had an incredible response from every single performance and it went way beyond my expectations.

Qassim and me

While in Brisbane I spent some time visiting the refugees that I had helped to get to Austraia via the Medivac Bill. They were all incredibly sick but it was so nice to see them smile and to spend a bit of time with them. Here is Qassim from Iraq, he spent 6 years on Manus and was tortured by ISIS. He had 11 bones in his body broken. He was incredibly sick when I saw him on Manus and here he is now looking so much better. I wrote “We Live and We Die” with another refugee called Kazem after visiting Qassim in the Lorengau hospital on Manus. I will be doing a professional studio recording of this song at the end of November. He is still in detention here in Australia and who knows how long the government will keep them there.

After Brisbane I went down to Port Macquarie then Newcastle and then Gosford. The Port Macquarie was with the Mid North West Refugee Group and Newcastle was organised by Niko at the Hunter Asylum Seekers group. Once again the events were organised beautifully and I was hosted by so many wonderful people all working really hard behind the scenes. My next stop was Sydney where I did my final two performances, one with the Hawkesbury Rural Australian for Refugees group and the other was actually at a music venue which was a bit novel for this tour… lol…… It was lovely to meet Geoff and Sue who hosted the Hawkesbury event and I really don’t want to miss anyone out because I was so well looked after by so many lovely people. The venue in Crows Nest was called Street Market Asian Tapas Bar and Restaurant and I had a lovely night there too. I was also very happy to be at the tail end of my tour. I was exhausted and really enjoyed my last few days with my very good friend in Sydney.

WAM Nomination

I had the shock of my life a week or so ago when I found out that I had been nominated for the category of “Best Regional Act” for WAM (West Australian Music). I have worked really hard in my music career and I had no idea how hard it actually was when I first started. I never really intended to take it this far but I just love it. Each time I say to myself well that’s it now I’ve done more than I could possibly have imagined, it’s time to get back into normal life but I can’t do that because I have learned in the last 8 years that this is normal life for me….the roller coaster of writing songs, performing, recording and touring. I love it wouldn’t change it for the world.

I received an invitation to the WAM Awards evening for October 31st so I am really looking forward to that. It says leave your ripped jeans at home so it looks like I might have to dress up a bit. :O)

Perth Royal Show

So far October has been extra busy with a gig at the Perth Royal Show and then I have a house concert in Northam for friend and Radio Presenter Allen Tonks. His partner Lisa is celebrating her 50th Birthday. Then I will be going up to Perth for the awards night. Well that’s it from me folks and I look forward to my next update soon.

 

 

Activism, Airplay, Festival, Gigs, Photos, Refugees, Reviews, Song writing, Sydney, Touring, Videos

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