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Dawn Barrington > Gigs > Sydney

🥶 WHO SAID MELBOURNE WAS COLD? 🤣

May 4, 2023 0 Comments

They were absolutely right! Actually it’s bloody freezing today!! 🤣

Yep I have succumbed to making comments about the Melbourne weather. Whenever I say that I live in Melbourne the first response that I get is “it’s cold in Melbourne” 🤣 yeah I know it is but the people are so so friendly here that I am staying for now.

I am downing tools at the moment after an incredibly chaotic, busy 7 months since my arrival here. Melbourne is a hive of creativity with, I believe, more culture and diversity than Perth, and there is so much more to do and see here too. I got hit by a virus (no not the C one) just a bog standard one that stopped me in my tracks and reminded me to take a bit more care of myself and to remember that “nothing is something worth doing”.

Humph Hall

I want to share the amazing experience I had of playing with Susie Bishop at the infamous Humph Hall in Sydney in February. It was an amazing evening. Susie and I met through the refugee advocacy and activist network a few years ago now and found that we had so much in common that a friendship grew over time but we had never met in real life. I totally admired Susie’s incredible violin playing but I didn’t want to ask her to join me at Humph Hall because I knew she had just had a baby, and that she was already in high demand most of the time. Then a mutual friend suggested that I ask her and he promised me that she would love to play with me  so I took the plunge and asked. Susie was like “I would absolutely love to play”…..I was so excited at the prospect. Not only did she offer to play but also offered me a room during my time in Sydney.

It was so lovely to meet in real life and to meet Susies new born baby girl Julia and her family. The gig was 2 nights away and Susie had never played any of my songs before so we had a little rehearsal in her garden.  I had no idea how Susie liked to learn songs, some people need charts, some need to hear the music beforehand. Some like to have the sheet music before you actually meet to rehearse, but not Susie she just listened to the first few chords and off she went with beautiful melodies and rhythmic sounds which totally enhanced each song. I was immediately totally at ease knowing that she would be able to do whatever came her way. Not that I ever doubted it of course 😁 but there is always a level of apprehension when playing with another muso for the first time. Although I have to say Susie is not any muso she is a classically trained violin player who can ad lib or improv at any folk or jig gathering.

Off we went to Humph Hall the next night and amazingly we were playing with the same band that I played with the last time I was there in 2017, well not quite the exactly same band there were a couple of extra members. We discussed which songs we would play together at the end. A great night was had by all. I would have to say that Humph Hall on February 18th of this year which was also my birthday was one of the most perfect gigs I have ever done. Wayne and Giall do such a fabulous job at Humph Hall. They book events every week and always put on a light supper and generally make everyone very welcome. Wayne also films the event which means we get a professional video at the end of each event. I am going to post them at the end of this blog entry. 

Thornbury Local

In January I had a busy month with a couple of band gigs. I started playing with a band over the holiday period because they needed a vocalist for a couple of gigs so I was very happy to oblige but the condition was that I could also play guitar 😁 

It was a great experience and we even scored another couple of gigs from the 2 that we did in January which was awesome but it also kept me very busy, way to busy actually so I had to stop at the last gig and come back to my own music endeavours.

The Thornbury Local was a solo gig on a Sunday late arvo early evening in March. It was a 2 hr original gig which I hadn’t done in a while and I had also played at a 60th birthday with the band the night before so it was really testing my agility. I absolutely loved the Thornbury Local gig, the owners and bar staff were amazing. The audience were really attentive and it was an overall really positive experience. It was also lovely to see so many friends there too.

YouTube Videos

Here are the videos that Wayne took starting with the group song of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activism, Gigs, Photos, Refugees, Song writing, Sydney, Touring

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It’s February 2023!!!

February 9, 2023 0 Comments

I know it’s crazy but we are already into the 2nd month of the year and still the sun hides behind the clouds here in downtown Melbourne 😅 and the thermometer is stuck in the mid 20º section. I am sure that will change but I have been told “you’re in Melbourne now” 🥳 ….. yeah they almost have a smile of glee when of reminding me of that point.🤪 But guess what? I LOVE IT ❤️ all of it.

MOE

I have been so busy since arriving late September last year. Moe RSL was great fun. The lovely Alan Edwards from the Musicial Australiana show on  Gippsland FM was kind enough to organise a radio interview then a gig at the Moe RSL. It was the end of year Christmas gig so it went down a real treat. I even won the raffle which was a washing basket filled to the brim with Christmas goodies that I am still ploughing through. 😍

CERES

Sunday 14th January I had a lovely surprise at the CERES Organic Market and Bakery, what an amazing little hub of activity. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces too. I played 2 hours of original songs about all the things closest to my heart and what an amazing attentive audience. ❤️

Here’s a little clip of me singing one of my favourite songs Women of War.

BAR 303

Then last week I was invited by Peter Vadiveloo, Cate Taylor and Phil Hudson and the Grand Kompanions to play a few songs at their gig at Bar 303 in Northcote. It was such a great night of original music and so lovely to share it with other great musicians who are passionate about the same things as I am.

Hopefully I will be able to do more gigs like that in the future. There are so many more opportunities here in Melbourne to connect with like minded people who are seeking the same in their musical and artistic adventures.

 

 

 

Upcoming!

 

HUMPH HALL IS NEXT!

I am really excited about this one! The last time I was at Humph Hall was February 2017 which was before I even started writing songs that reflected my 6 years of involvement in refugee advocacy and activism. It was even before my first trip to Manus. I am incredibly excited also because Susie Bishop, who is an extremely talented violinist amongst other things, is going to join me. I connected with Susie through the advocacy network, she too was doing all she could to support the refugees who had been medivaced here and locked up in hotels and detention centres across Australia for years. From the first time we spoke on the phone I knew she was from my tribe and even better still she is a musician too. The Sunloungers will also be playing on that evening, I played with them the last time I was there and we had a lot of fun. We will probably play a few songs together at the end of the evening like last time which was a huge amount of fun.

March 5th I will be playing at the Thornbury local solo. It’s a venue that supports original music so looking forward to playing a heap of my own songs there. I also have a new side project. 🤪 I have joined a band and we are playing a bunch of fun covers and I am having such a blast! More of that to come next time folks. Enjoy what life has to offer and see you soon. ❤️

Spotify    Bandcamp   Youtube

Activism, Gigs, Melbourne, Photos, Refugees, Song writing, Sydney

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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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NSW and Tasmania tour and the Day before departure

February 27, 2018 0 Comments

The day before I left for NSW I did a performance at the Denmark Arts Markets, it was a fabulous morning and if you have never been to the Arts Markets you must schedule a trip to Denmark WA to coincide with an Arts Markets day. They have live music playing all day and lots of market stalls with hand made products, food and more.

I played a full set and at the end of my set I decided to dedicate the last two songs to the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. I offered the audience an opportunity to get up on stage with me to stand with the Women, men and children in offshore detention, it was quite moving as people joined me and a very special moment indeed when I sang my new song “Fly Free Little Bird”

I was away for just over 3 weeks and I’ve been home a week or so and it’s been go go go. I had a fantastic tour and there were many highlights and a few lowlights of course but it wouldn’t be rock ‘n’ roll if  it was all plain sailing.  After spending a few days with my 2nd cousin in Gladesville (thanks Paul and Anne) I went to Gosford via Chatswood.  John Regan has been a great supporter of my music and it’s always great to go to the studio at Northside Sydney Radio 99.3 fm to see him for an interview and a quick catch up.  Then I met Father Rod Bower from the Anglican Parish Church for lunch in Gosford.  I have been following him for a little while now and I am very interested in the work he is doing to support the refugees in offshore detention and I just love all of his work and the way he goes about it. It was fantastic to meet him and have a chat about all matters needing our attention and compassion. Then I remembered that I had a radio interview booked for 2 BOB 104.7fm  to promote the gig in Upper Lansdowne. I managed to be ready at my phone in time for that then off I went to my next stop.

I headed over to the Rhythm Hut where I was booked to play that night and what a fantastic venue it is. Louise Sawilejskij is the lady at the helm of the Rhythm Hut and she and her team of volunteers bring it all together.  They have a fantastic venue where you can stay and a shared meal  is offered and you get to sit and chat with all the volunteers and other musicians. I was fortunate enough to be there when Nathan Cavaleri was playing so I got to have chat with him and see his gig on the Friday night, he’s a lovely young man and of course I had no idea of who he was until after the event.  Louise did give me a bit of his story just when he arrived but it really didn’t sink in until I googled him a week or so later and wow! what a surprise I had to see his incredible story.

The next day I made my way up to Upper Lansdowne where I was booked to play as a support act for Dan Walsh a great up and coming Banjo player from the UK.  I played a set and then he played and then we played a few songs together which was a lot of fun…I just love to collaborate and I can’t believe that he

let me improvise some lead on his song…he’s  a very brave man lol…. Upper Landsdowne Memorial Hall is a fantastic venue run by the local community it was a fantastic night, we had a full house and a lot of fun. The very next day I had to get back to Newcastle for a gig at the Lass O’Gowrie which was one of the low lights so I won’t talk about that one  grrrrr. Then on the same day I made my way to Glenorie where I stayed at the lovely Dimitra’s (a friend of a friend) for 3 days and for a bit of rest before I headed off to Tasmania. I was well looked after and really sorry that I missed my friends who usually stay there but hopefully I will get to see them soon.  They are also musicians and they are aways on the road.  I’m afraid the photos aren’t very good but they are just evidence that I  was there and having a great time!

I stayed for a night at a friend’s house in Sydney then I went over to Tasmania for 10 days which was organised by John Lay from Voice of the Midlands 97.1fm.

John organised the tour and initially he was planning on booking 5 to 6 gigs but it ended up only being 3 which was not the best but that’s rock and roll too folks sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. I played at the Colebrook Tavern, Midland Hotel in Oatlands and Ye Olde Buckland Inn in Buckland which was the high light and I also did a radio interview which is always a lot of fun too.

However, I managed to catch up with the lovely Dave Anger who is also a radio presenter at Voice of the Midlands and we got to spend some time together and he had his home studio set up where I recorded a demo of my song “Fly free little bird” which I have dedicated to the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. It was a very special moment and I am very grateful to Dave for the opportunity to get a demo down.

What’s Next?

Next Friday 9th March I will be playing at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery as part of the Bunbury Goodnights live music series.  I will be playing from 12 noon till 2pm and then I will be heading over the Mandurah to do a House Concert at Westy’s BnB which is run by the lovely Be Westbrook.  We met through House Concerts Australia.  House Concerts is another great way to listen to live music and get up close and personal with the musician, they are great fun and I always meet lovely people who really appreciate music.

The very big news is that I have been selected to play at the Townsville Cultural Fest in Townsville August of this year.  This is very exciting for me because it’s not easy getting into big festivals and I have been selected because the organiser likes my work which is fantastic.  This is an all ages all genres festival and a celebration of all cultures.  My songs reflect a lot of who I am and the things that matter to me the most, so to be selected based on what I write about makes it all worth while.

I do have some more very exciting news which I will share with you very soon. So watch this space folks!!

Gigs, Song writing, Sydney, Tasmania

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Finishing off the Year and bring in 2018

December 20, 2017 0 Comments

Well it’s that time of year again and what a year it has been.  I spend way too much time each day thinking that I am not doing enough in one way or another and yet when I look back on the past 12 months I can see that I’ve done more than enough to fill anyone’s calendar.

This year started with the production of my 2nd album, how could I forget that memorable 10 days? Toby came down from Perth to set up his studio in my music room and a bunch of amazing artists and friends came and put down their tracks. Tony King my teacher and mentor and Toby should get the most credit because they work so well together and I just love what they come up with everytime. While Toby finished the mixing off I went to Sydney for another tour where I got to play at some amazing places and meet some wonderful people.  It was a huge sense of achievement too because it’s not easy to go off on your own to play at venues that you’ve never played before, because you never know what reception you’re going to get.  However, had a fantastic time and I got to meet some lovely friends there including fellow musician friends who came to see me play.  

This year I have clocked up a pile of gigs too and Peter Caron joined me for  many of them which was lots of fun. It’s always good to share the stage and have a good laugh on the way home at all the things that happened throughout the night.  Thanks Peter for such a great year of musical shenanigans.  We also played at the Denmark Festival of Voice where I launched my Album “When did it change?“.

This year was also my year of House Concerts, I did more house concerts this year than I have ever done and it’s such a great experience.  I met a lot of lovely people and learnt a lot about myself and how I want to present my act.  What do I want to share with the audience? How do I do that in a way that is complementary to my music and staying true to who I am as an artist?  They are questions I ask myself everyday.  I guess I’m just working it all out as I go along.  I did house concerts in Denmark, Sydney, Kalgoorlie, Manjimup, Kendenup, Northam and Warnbro and I’m looking forward to doing my first one for 2018 in Mandurah in March.

One of the biggest things that happened for me this year was that my son Andrew went on a school trip to New York and he’s only 15 years old.  He was so excited and so were we but I was so anxious too. It was his first time away from home for such a long time and he was going to NEW YORK….I mean isn’t that the place where all sorts of terrible things happen…yeah I know I’m being a bit pathetic, but the most ridiculous things go through your head when your only child is leaving the country for a few weeks without you.  He had the time of his life and came back a new young man glowing with confidence and self esteem that no school lesson or other experience could have offered.

Finally this year was my year of many radio interviews too, I am very grateful to all the lovely presenters who invited me into their studio to talk about me and my music and especially to those who offered me an opportunity to play a song too. Not to forget the phone interviews too. They include John Regan from Northside Radio 99.3 fm, John Tonks from Voice of the Avon 101.3 fm , James Monte from Monte Famous Mondays,  John Maddison and David Sims from Albany Community Radio 109.3 fm, Chris Spencer from Australian Sporgasbord ORC fm,  ABC Kalgoorlie fm  and ABC Albany. It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to play and put your music out there.  I would like to make a special thank you you Pete Williams from Sunbury fm 99.3 fm’s “Made in the Shade” for the fantastic review of my recently released album “When did it Change?”.  It was incredibly exciting to receive such a wonderful review which I have pinned at the top of my facebook page and it’s also become a wonderful resource that I can use when applying for gigs, festivals and other events. I want to thank all the presenters who continue to play my music too, it’s only because of you guys that independent artists can get heard by a larger audience.  I would just like to thank a lovely presenter that is all the way across the states in Tasmania who plays my tracks Dave Anger from WNCM100.3 fm .  Thanks Dave and I look forward to coming in for an interview when I come to Tasmania next year.

Wishing you all a fantastic Summer break (or winter if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and I look forward to many more musical shenanigans and surprises for in 2018 including an opportunity to play at a big festival over east. More to come on that soon.  Also I will be recording my next album too…..I’ll keep you posted on that one too.

Bye for now xox

 

 

 

Albany Gigs, Denmark Gigs, Gigs, House Concderts, Sydney

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