Tag Archive: songwriting

Dawn Barrington > songwriting

WELL THAT WAS FUN!!

December 11, 2024 0 Comments

Photo credit: Adrian Athans


“What you may ask, there’s been nothing posted here for 18 mths”.  “I know I can’t believe it too”. I did my last proper gig in March of 2024, 6 months after I arrived in Melbourne, then didn’t book another. I am not quite sure why but I think I just needed a break to recapture myself.
I also needed to settle into my new home. July of this year I started writing a blog entry because I had decided to get back into it all but after a few open mics the fizz fizzled away. 

So, after taking time to withdraw, consolidate and recuperate I have started to get my mojo back. I heard that Leonard Cohen retired to a Buddhist Monastery for 9 yrs then came back with great gusto. I didn’t quite do the monastery thing lol, quite the contrary actually. I have spent the past 18 months, enjoying Melbourne and all it has to offer, including great friends, places to visit and the list goes on and on. I also have been back to Perth to visit my daughter twice a year and then there was my overseas trip to visit family in the UK and Sweden, so not exactly doing nothing.

So I have started to get into songwriting again and I have played at a few open mics and recently I did a couple of songs at a songwriters night at the Nighthawk Bar in Collingwood. It was a great night and really good to get on a stage with great sound and a listening audience. Here’s a clip of me singing a new song “Home”

https://www.youtube.com/@dawnbarringtonmusic/shorts

Back in July I played at a bar called the Ringo Barr, in Brunswick, Melbourne. it was a great vibe and we had a lot of fun there. Here’s a few shorts of me singing “In My Name“

The other news is that I have found a bass player which is very exciting. He’s motivated, loves playing my originals and plays brilliantly, can sing and is really easy to get along with and we have a lot fun. We will be getting a set together over the next few months to go out and perform which is very exciting. Well thats it from me for now but there is going to be a lot more to come in the new year. So wishing you all an amazing festive season and New Year folks!

Gigs, Melbourne, Photos, Song writing, Videos

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2021 Final Quarter

October 9, 2021 2 Comments

Women in Music Mentee and Mentorship announced

Hi there folks I hope you are all going well wherever you may be located across the planet. I have been incredibly busy as usual and I have made a lot of headway into making new connections up here in the big smoke for future musical endeavours.

I mentioned to you last month about the incredible opportunity that I had been offered by Australian Independent Record Label with their Women in Music mentor mentee program. Last month my mentor was revealed to me and we have already had our first Skype meeting. Angie Hart was selected to be my mentor for 6 months, which was so exciting to hear. Angie’s band Frente had a huge amount of success in the early 90s, but Angie didn’t stop there she has since released 3 albums and is currently working on her fourth. For me it was important to be connected to a female artist because I wanted to be able to identify with her journey as a woman in the Music Industry.

The whole purpose of the program is to empower women in the music industry. It’s a great program and I really enjoyed our first meeting. We talked about music, and about being a woman in the industry and many other aspects of being in an industry that is at times not the easiest to navigate. However, Angie also expressed how far we had come since she started out so that was good to hear too.

Recording

I have almost finished the song that I was recording with David Hyams and I am very happy with the results so far. Just a few more tweaks here and there then I can work on a release date.

However, I have also been recording with Rob Agostini at SoundBaker Studio. I had another song that needed to be recorded and with David being such a busy man I sought out another option.

I am super happy to have found Rob and his set up is amazing. The song is called “He’s My Brother” and it’s a very special song and quite different to my usual format but I am soooo excited about it and can’t wait to release it. 

We spent two full four hour sessions in the studio to lay down the tracks. Rob was an absolute pleasure to work with, he got a great sense of what I was trying to achieve  and came up with some awesome ideas.

I am going to work on a video and the release date will be announced very soon.

I have also been busy going out and meeting other muso’s and doing a few open mics. I have a few gigs lined this month, one with the Jackadders Music Club where I will be playing a set alongside Jim McGuire and the other one is at a CARAD fundraising event at the Wesley Church in Perth city. I will be doing a short set and there will be some other great acts playing like The West Australian Charity Orchestra (WACO Players).  See all details below and please come along if you are in Perth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gigs

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Spring into September

September 7, 2021 0 Comments

My last update was at the beginning of July and I can’t believe two months have passed. It’s been a very busy few months but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what I have actually done.

RECORDING

However, I did get some more recording booked in which was very exciting. The song I am recording is called “Pledge my soul” and I wrote it last year during lockdown. “Pledge my Soul” is a reflection of my experience with the refugees that I met on Manus Island and the ongoing fight for their freedom. David Hymans is an established singer songwriter in his own right and a dab-hand at recording too. He has a studio in his home very close to where I live and so far we have put down all the tracks except percussion which I still need to make a decision on. As soon as it is finished I will be keen to release it into the ether.

PERTH LIFE AS A MUSO

I have been living up in the big smoke for the past 12 months now and apart from doing my “Music Talks” events to raise awareness about  refugees and  few other gigs, I haven’t really established myself in the Perth music scene yet so that is my next mission. Although working with Jason and getting a duo started took up a significant chunk of my time last year and we were just starting to book gigs when Jason found work getting too demanding to continue.

I am keen to getting booking gigs now though and I am actively seeking other keen musos to work with. A duo or trio would be great so let’s see how that goes. I have to admit I have been having a few struggles with with taking the next step to out there again into the scene. It was relatively easy down in the Great Southern and touring over east made a big difference to. It’s always easier when you are on road travelling to different places with your music and going blindly. However, trying to establish yourself on your home ground is more of a challenge, or maybe it’s not and that’s just my experience. I do believe being a woman in a male dominated industry also has it’s holdbacks but I am not going to let that get the better of me and I have decided it’s time to pick myself up and get on with it.

JALAL AND “CROSS TO BEAR”

You may remember me talking about Jalal Mahamede in my last update. Jalal (refugee from Ahwaz, Iran) is still stuck in detention.  I have regular contact with him and we often discus different ways to raise awareness about the situation of the 71 men still detained by the Australian Government. A song that I played at every gig from 2016 and always dedicated to the refugees stuck on Manus and in Nauru is called “Cross to Bear”.  I spoke to Jalal and asked him permission to feature his artwork (story) in the video with that song. He agreed so below is the end result. Please check out the words in the middle during the solo, they are profound and written by Jalal.

WOMEN IN MUSIC 

I do have some other very exciting news but I have to wait a few weeks before I can reveal that. Once I get the OK from the industry body involved I will be able to share all the juicy info. However, I will give you a few clues. Australian Indepenent Recording Label (AIR) put out a call for applications of interest to women across the music industry sector to apply for an opportunity to be mentored. The mentor will be someone who is already established in their career in the music industry sector. I of course put an application and I have just found out who my mentor is going to be……so I promise I will do my next update very soon and let you all know who that is and what it means for me in my music career.

Activism, Gigs, Photos, Recording, Refugees, Song writing, Videos

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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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