Garage gigs draw a big online crowd

If South West MLC Colin Holt ever quits politics, a career in music promotion might be on the cards, with the first of the livestreamed gigs he has supported going live Friday.

Featuring Bridgetown and Bunbury duo Blackwood Rising, the event attracted more than 1000 viewers between 5pm and 6pm.

Mr Holt is himself a blues enthusiast and said the idea for Gigs from the Garage came from a desire to help musicians impacted by COVID-19.

“Obviously the performing arts sector has suffered a lot from COVID restrictions, a lot of venues closed and almost overnight a lot of those professional artists who only survive on the gig economy lost all their income,” he said.

“I just wanted to do something in a small way where I could support our artists in the South West and came up with the idea that we could just do some streaming.”

Gigs from the Garage will feature a number of South West artists in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got a number of artists lined up, at least five more acts that we think we can slot in,” Mr Holt said.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of artists lining up to say, happy to play for an hour, thanks for the sponsorship.”

Geoff Rowe from Blackwood Rising said livestreaming was something new for the band.

“It’s good to be back in the saddle, we haven’t played for about eight or nine weeks now, so it was good to get out there,” he said.

Mr Holt emphasised the importance of arts and culture to regional communities.

“I’m the Nationals spokesperson for arts and culture, I think it plays an incredibly important role in our communities and the fabric of our communities, especially in regional WA,” he said.

The next Gig from the Garage will feature Bridgetown artist Tracey Barnett this Friday from 5pm to 6pm.