THE LINE UP

27 Club | March 23

On 23 March, the first cab off the proverbial REWIRE rank is 27 Club, the electrifying live rockumentary featuring treasured music and stories from the likes of Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix, the legends who will forever be 27, and celebrating the legacy they left behind. Now in its third year, Australian rock icons Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus) and Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah, Bob Evans) with Carla Lippis (Mondo Psycho), Dusty Lee Stephenson, Cam Blokland and Wanderers have reunited to once again salute the fated members of the 27 Club

“We did the first season at Adelaide Fringe and it just really came alive,” explains Australia’s Queen of rock ‘n roll Sarah McLeod.

“There was the script and then there was us, and we as a group we’re not really accustomed to following rules or scripts, so the script became like rough guidelines and then everybody just started putting themselves into it and this thing just sort of developed into its own moving beast and it just got really unpredictable and dangerous and fun.”

As the lead singer/guitarist and primary songwriter for 3x ARIA Award-winning rock band The Superjesus, 27 Club sees McLeod, the completely down-to-earth and passionate rockstar, explore her musicianship in new and exciting ways as she takes on the likes of Joplin and Winehouse in a theatre-like setting.

“It’s great because you’ve got great performers with you, so everybody’s doing harmonies together and I’m really not used to collaborating like that,” McLeod says.

“I either play by myself or I’m in the Superjesus where I’m doing all the lead singing, but now I’m in a position where a lot of time I’m not playing the guitar and I’m standing there and I’ve got three really strong singers around me doing three-part harmonies. It’s really cool and I really enjoy it, like from a vocal point of view, it’s challenging but it’s also really rewarding.”

Off the back of receiving Adelaide Fringe Festival’s ‘Best Music Award’ in 2021 and following another run at Fringe this year, the infamous club is hitting the road to bring their tribute to the prestigious but tragic club of music legends to Geelong.

“It’s pretty amazing that it’s touring, it’s just working really well,” McLeod says.

“I think it’s got legs because we change it up every year because there are so many songs we can choose from. Each year we go into the rehearsal room for a week prior and it gets switched up and we change all sorts of things.

“This year we added a few songs and then cut some songs down and made four songs into one song, so everybody gets up and sings a bit and then jumps on harmonies. With Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz’, I used to start that on piano and then do the rest of the song with the band. But now we’re doing it all a cappella with everyone just banging things and the crowd clapping to the beat, and on the last chorus, all the singers come in and do the whole thing in four part harmonies, it’s really cool.”

Breathing life back into the music of the fated superstars with re-imaginings of classics, true to the originals and creative medleys, the show not only delivers music’s greatest setlist but also delivers a masterclass in rock ’n’ roll, keeping alive the music, mythos and enduring cultural impact of this infamous collective of the gone-too-soon.

“It’s just all about having a good time but it’s also a really good little history lesson in good old-fashioned rock and roll. So, you know, people our age and older love it because it rekindles their youth, but also people are bringing their kids and giving them a hard and fast music lesson, which is great.”

With couches and a coffee table on stage and a group of musicians who are all masters in their own right, the show - which has received a plethora of five-and-four-and-a-half-star reviews - is more than a concert, it’s a celebration of some of the greatest artists of all time.

I Liked It, BUT... | May 11-13

Want to take your typical pub trivia night to the next level? From 11-13 May, I Liked It, BUT… heads to Little Creatures for pub trivia with a twist in this silly, irreverent and interactive experience to be remembered, birthed from the mind of creator, choreographer and performer, Joel Bray. I Liked It, BUT... goes where few “experimental contemporary immersive performance” works dare to tread… out of the theatre and into the bar to see what passes the “pub test”. Expect very silly stories about very serious people, served with tongue firmly in cheek as everyone tries to work out how dance even gets made, and why we should care.

RECKŌNING | July 28-29

A powerful celebration of Indigenous culture through storytelling, original songs, and dance hitting the stage 28-29 July. This powerful piece is a recognition of past injustices, a journey through understanding, and a celebration of Indigenous cultures’ survival, creativity and strength is a performance that will both educate and challenge your perceptions.

Rich Kids: A History Of Shopping Malls In Tehran | August 3-5

Dive into an otherworldly interactive, digital experience with Rich Kids: A History Of Shopping Malls In Tehran from 3-5 August. It explores entitlement, consumption and the global gap between rich and poor – partly onscreen, and partly in your hand on your mobile, it’s an immersive experience you will be talking about for days.

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Tickets and subscription packages can be found at geelongartscentre.org.au

For so many of us, there is no better feeling than getting together with a bunch of mates to go and check out some live music. And with our region consistently boasting incredibly healthy crops of up-and-comers, Victorian fans arguably have it the best out of all music fans nationwide. Not only do we have access to local gigs, events and boutique festivals almost every weekend of the year, but we also have events that provide a clear focus on fostering aspiring artists, making it easy for Victorian punters to show support for bands still in their infancy.

This is just one of the reasons why Aireys Inlet Music Festival has become such a staple for local music lovers around the region.

Having previously established a reputation for showcasing the best local acts around, as well as for booking large-scale surprise acts to close the weekend, this year’s event is being run a little bit differently. Having dropped both the ‘open mic’ aspect and the secret headliner schtick, Aireys 2023 leans more into the design of Queenscliff Music Festival, providing punters with an absolutely stacked three-day lineup presented across one main stage and many other pop-up stages around the township.

Discussing changes to the festival’s layout and overall design, newly appointed festival director Patrick Donovan stated, “I love the idea of an open mic event, but as an open mic festival it means that artists were playing for free, which is a very outdated model.

“Musicians were hit harder than anyone during COVID, so we’re not letting anyone play for free. Instead, we will be paying for acts which obviously means this year there is a very modest door charge of $60 dollars that will cover you for the three days.”

Donovan, the former CEO of the state music peak body Music Victoria, who took over from the beloved Marty Maher as the festival’s director, also commented that when putting together this year’s event, “We didn’t have to look too far to source a great lineup.’

“We really wanted to showcase that by focusing on the amazing local acts coming out of the south coast of Geelong, and the Great Ocean Road area.

“There aren’t many festivals that really focus on the local scene so we wanted to really hone in on that. But obviously, there are great acts from all around the state so we do have a few guests, but if they were being invited and they were from somewhere else, they had to be bloody amazing,” he laughs, “which we’ve done.”

And he’s not wrong, with 2020’s lineup showcasing the talents of Geelong rock icons Rocket Science, as well as the cream of the crop when it comes to up-and-coming acts. I’m talking, Bones and Jones, Belaire Lip Bombs, Foggy Notion, Zoe Fox and The Rocket Clocks; Watty Thompson and his band… and that’s just to name a few.