FROM THE BOSSMAN

BY ALLAN SKO

[ALLAN@BMAMAG.COM]

Well! Here we go again.

Again.

Seems like an annual tradition to ‘welcome you back’ to BMA in print form. Despite having to tentatively wade into the swamp of uncertainty that is 2021, it is still a pleasure to do so.

As Canberra and its surrounds slowly emerge from its pandemicinduced slumber, we thought it high time that BMA, too, swabbed the goo from our cryogenic sleep tank and got back to bluddy work already.

And, he humbly states, what a return this is.

While here in Canberra we are cautiously opening doors - albeit to frustrating limited capacities despite people all but swapping sweat in shopping malls… but I digress - and shows are beginning to return, the creatives of Canberra passionately ground the pestle of inspiration into the crucible of uncertainty to produce the magical powder of art.

Which is a shockingly clunky way of introducing the huge review section we have this issue celebrating the best releases of the past year (and there were plenty). Despite the ‘19 running rampant the globe over, Canberra musicians knuckled down and plied their craft in the most magnificent of ways. In fact, stop reading this - seriously, you’ve nothing to gain here - and flick thee to page 33 immediately (it actually starts on page 34, but ‘thirty-four’ didn’t rhyme).

What’s more, this is merely Part 1, as we’ve another slew of cracking Canberra choons to share with you next issue.

Perhaps most excitingly for many of you (judging by the fact I needed a multiple rib replacement last year after being nudged in the side so repeatedly about this) this issue also marks the permanent RETURN OF THE PRINT ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE! Five-plus tightly packed pages of sheer gigging wonderment.

Then there’s informative articles on the Folkie morphing into the all new weekend concert series Good Folk, new arts hub Flazéda, Songs From A Stolen Senate, the return of the print guide, the lovely Katie Noonan, columns for all genres absolutely blushing with info, plus the print gig guide (yes, I’m going on about it, but if you’d spent as many flimmin’ hours as I did putting that BASTARD together, you’d harp on about it too...)

Oh, and we had a wee chat to rights-fighting slick-domed Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, no less.

As always, this is literally the last thing I need to do before sending this badboy off to the printers, so welcome back, it’s so, SO damn good to ‘see’ you, and I hope you enjoy.