Make 2026 the year of going to that local gig

Australia’s local music scene is thriving, well, almost. Every weekend, in every state, you can find a local band playing the gig of their lives. It could be their first gig ever, their first gig back after a dry spell, or an out-of-state band that has driven hours just to play to a 100 capacity room that’s barely half-full. Every weekend (some weeks every day) there’s someone, somewhere, playing live music. 

Statistically, they can’t all be good. And admittedly, there will be the odd occasion where you’ll wander into a bar, pay $10, and discover it’s more of a slam poetry delivered over a really out of tune guitar with a very drunk, very fast drummer. That’s fine, that’s a story, that’s an excuse to take yourself to the bar and make a friend, or catch up with whatever friend you’ve dragged along. Either way, it’s a conversation starter. 

‘Hey, remember that one time we saw the Pink Mild Capsicums?’

More often than not, however, the band will be astonishingly good. Australia is a hotbed for musical talent yet our musicians are not set up for success professionally. In a climate where no one is buying music and streamers are paying insultingly low amounts (or nothing at all!) Australian musicians are fighting on another front too. 

Australian’s aren’t even listening to Australian music anymore. 

EARTHCADET @ BERGY BANDROOM

Once we do, however, there’s no way to push it outwards, without our great bands disappearing from Australia all together. So many of our musicians are lost to overseas markets and it makes rising above these local pub gigs held mostly in front of their housemates and partners look like pipe dreams. There are currently too many phenomenally talented Australian artists that are playing to DEAD rooms and they don’t deserve to be. 

It’s not entirely our fault. Music streaming algorithms are a work of corporate greed and finding music organically, such as through Australian radio, is almost impossible when the same fifteen songs are played on repeat. Yes, I have listened to the latest Geese album, thank you for playing it seventy-five times anyway though, appreciate it. 

GITHMI @ THE TOTE

Going to see live music is one solution, among a few (such as listening to community radio, shout out Hot & Heavy, RRR, SYN and so many more). Simply walking into a bar that promotes ‘Live Music’, or googling ‘LIVE MUSIC (YOUR CITY)’ will land you in a wonderland of potential musical discoveries. Especially for those of us who love the heavy music scene. In Melbourne especially you will find at least one dedicated heavy music gig per week. I’d even be confident enough to promise it. 

Instead of meeting friends in a bar you can just barely tolerate, suggest seeing a local band, it’s the perfect mixture of talking each other’s ear off and experiencing something new together. If the cost of living is kicking your arse as it’s kicking mine and you miss going to concerts, go to a local gig. They’re likely to be $20 or less, with cheap drinks, and good company. The band might even be half-decent too. 

COG @ MAXWATTS

Plus, you’ll often stumble into a community. There are so many people turning up in bars and pubs and clubs, performing their hearts out, and offering community, begging for it. We are more isolated than ever but we don’t have to be. The first step is looking outside and deciding to show up. 

If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of friends in bands, and there always seems to be a promise of ‘next gig’ when that Instagram post appears, promoting the next Saturday your friends have given up to pursue their dreams. Instead of ‘next gig’, try ‘this gig’. Show up. Buy the beer you were probably drinking at home alone in a bar instead, with a friend that will be over the moon to see you (and they might even be . . . good at what they do, shocker). 

We’ve heard it a hundred times over. We’ve heard it from musicians themselves, from the pubs that give them a place to perform and are struggling to make a profit, from music journalists and radio hosts and everyone in between. It should be, it’s worth saying over and over again, it should be shouted from the roof tops. The ability to see live, local music is magic, but without the punters to support it, how long does it have left?

BAD/LOVE @ MAXWATTS

so many of us are lonely, isolated, seeking self-care and comfort in an increasingly terrifying world when oftentimes the very best thing to do is turn to a friend, hold them close, and listen to some good music. 

It’s out there, it’s not even that hard to find, you just have to start looking.