While the rest of the country sits at home impatiently waiting for live music to return to their state, Western Australia is enjoying the perks of eased restrictions with their first live music concert on the way.
The WA Unlocked concert will be held at HBF Stadium in Perth with a stellar lineup of all local acts including Crooked Colours, Slumberjack, ShockOne, Reija Lee, and Tina Says. Occurring on Saturday July 18th, the event was organised by Zaccaria Concerts and Touring and VenuesWest who are working hard to bring life back to the dormant Western Australian music scene.
“It’s so exciting to see the live entertainment industry get back on its feet so quickly with this amazing event,” said COO of VenuesWest Peter Bauchop to themusic.
If you wanted to fly over to Western Australia to attend this event and mosh to an insane lineup, well you’re out of luck. The WA border is still closed off to the rest of the country until Coronavirus cases ease in the eastern states of Australia. For those of you in Western Australia consider yourselves lucky that you get to enjoy some of Australia’s finest music all night long.
???????? ????????: ?? ?ɴʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ft. Crooked Colours, ShockOne, Slumberjack
?? ??????? ??-???? ??? ??https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/130058D9DDC626A8Castaway Presents: WA Uɴʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ—Crooked Colours SHOCKONE ft. Reija LeeSLUMBERJACK+ Tina Says(???????????? ?????)????SATURDAY 18th JULY??????? ?????HBF Stadium (Mount Claremont)—This event is separate to Castaway in DECEMBER.???????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????.
Posted by Castaway on Sunday, 28 June 2020
The announcement of the concert comes after Western Australia entered phase 4 of their Coronavirus Roadmap on June 27th. Phase 4 relaxes restrictions further which the WA government says is a result of “the continued low number of new COVID-19 cases and WA’s hard border with the rest of the country.” The phase removes all existing gathering limits of 100-300 people, it also permits all events except for large scale, multi-stage music festivals, and allows unseated performances at venues such as concert halls, live music venues, bars, pubs, and nightclubs.
On the same day of WA Unlocked (July 18), the WA government will implement phase 5 which will include the removal of the 2 square metre rule. It will also include the removal of all remaining gathering restrictions and the 50 per cent capacity limit for major venues. Western Australia is well and truly opening up and enjoying the benefits of low Coronavirus cases.
“It’s because of the incredible effort of all Western Australians that we’ve been able to reach each phase and continue to lead the states in relaxing restrictions,” said WA Premier Mark McGowan.
Last week the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age spoke with some of the leading voices in the Australian music industry to discuss the road back to major tours and festivals. The group discussed whether live music can still work amid Coronavirus social distancing laws with Laneway Festival boss Danny Rogers saying “There’s no financial benefit” to shows with such low capacity. All agreed that the music industry has received a big blow due to the Coronavirus and the restrictions that follow.
“The restrictive capacities are pretty paralysing for us, but the unclear timeframe is probably more frustrating,” said Rod Smith, group general manager of Melbourne’s Corner Hotel.
The question of music festivals was also raised with many saying festivals won’t return till the end of the year or even next year. “I’d say that the later in the year it is, the better the chance,” says Danny. The group also talked about the challenges of cancelling or postponing their lineups. “Most of us in the festival industry are looking at rolling our acts over, so [moving] our cancelled 2020 events until 2021.” Says Peter Noble, Byron Bay Bluesfest festival director
“I’ve got artists booked on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, festivals, and whilst they’re all booked and confirmed, I’m highly pessimistic about whether those festivals will go ahead,” said Michael Chugg.
Although things are looking positive for WA, the International music scene won’t be returning back to complete normality any time soon. “Lots of associates in America and Europe are looking to the end of 2021 as the earliest to start mainstream touring again,” says Michael Chugg. Which is very disheartening for those who are keen to see international artists on tours and festival lineups.
In good news, the NSW government has pledged 1000 COVID-safe gigs in November this year under the Great Southern Nights initiative with artists joining the lineup including The Jungle Giants, Tash Sultana, Tones and I, Thelma Plum, The Presets, Jimmy Barnes, Birds of Tokyo, and more. This initiative is very reassuring for those in NSW ensuring live music will return to the state by the end of this year. Queensland and the Northern Territory are also reopening live music venues on July 3rd with the states being able to attend concerts, theatres and auditoriums with 50 per cent capacity.
Only time will tell when live music will return to the rest of Australia’s states as the Coronavirus continues to spread inside the country. With Australia having quite a low transmission rate compared to the rest of the world our fingers are crossed we’ll see you all moshing and grooving very soon.
Subscribe to FIB’s Weekly Alchemy Report for your weekly dose of music, fashion, and pop culture news!
