From Melbourne-based independent accessibility consultancy Tibi Access comes Groove Tunes – a new event at Melbourne's Corner Hotel highlighting inclusivity and the creativity of the disability community.
According to the Australian Festival Association, 64 per cent of Australian festivals do not publicly list their access information. Tibi Access is on a mission, through Groove Tunes, to bring the joy of music to the disability community.
Groove Tunes will showcase some of Melbourne's best artists and provide musicians living with a disability with the access and platform to showcase their work. Of course, this means punters with a disability, and their friends and family, will also be given the opportunity to experience an inclusive, anxiety-free night out. There'll be on-stage lyric videos, printed braille tickets, a Sensory Zone, lowered bar access and more.
The line-up includes genre-expanding outfit The Grogans, the Mornington Peninsula's Matilda Pearl, and Hakka-Chinese-meets-western-art-music influenced Irene Zhong (fresh from being nominated at the Music Victoria Awards for the first ever Arts Access Victoria Amplify Award).
Also joining the celebrations will be the sounds of young keyboard player Edward Roussac, and queer, post-genre music project Saint Ergo; a music experience aiming to explore the intersection and connection of us – where love and life are found.
Saint Ergo aims to inspire an inclusive and open-minded community through their work as a songwriter, producer, performer, arranger and engineer. . . Through musical elements of folk, classical, jazz, rock and pop.
Here, we chat with Tibi Access Founder and Groove Tunes Event Manager Dina Bassile and musician Saint Ergo about Groove Tunes, and its mission to push boundaries and change the landscape of live music, events and venues as we know them.
Dina Bassile - Image © Michelle Grace Hunder
Tell us a bit about Groove Tunes.
Dina: Groove Tunes is an inclusive gig that will be held at the Corner Hotel on 19 March. We have implemented accessible features to ensure the access needs of our audience is catered to. Some of our features include; Auslan interpreters, an accessible website, a lift to the stage and more! Groove Tunes was started with three purposes, the first was to be able to host an inclusive event for people with disability to attend a live music gig without the stress and anxieties of accessibility. The second purpose was to advocate and showcase the talent of our disability community. Groove Tunes has three artists living with a disability who will be performing at our event and the third was to educate. Groove Tunes is a platform to showcase industry professionals on how easy it is to host an inclusive event. Every show, whether it is an outdoor festival or a small venue based gig, should model Groove Tunes.
Saint Ergo: One of the most difficult things about being a musician is having to deal with the live performance environment and it has been in recent years the only way of actually earning an income from this art form. I write and record songs but it’s a slow and costly process and really the return on that is quite low. Touring is hard without having accessibility needs and being autistic, I am very easily overwhelmed by the sensory environment. Groove Tunes has identified this as a barrier to someone like me being able to build a successful live career and I see it, not just as a support to me, once it becomes known that the sensory environment is being managed to make it a beautiful experience for as many as possible, this is a huge drawcard for more patrons who want to experience good live music but can’t deal with the excessive noise and accessibility barriers.
Dina, give us a bit of a background on why this event is important to you?
Groove Tunes is hopefully the first of many of these events. Being a person with disability myself, I have seen first hand the lack of access in our industry and this is why I started Tibi. Groove Tunes is not only an educational event but it is a celebration of inclusivity and diversity in one of the most iconic venues in the live music capital of the world. I am so excited to share with the rest of Victoria what my team and I have been working so hard on for the last 24 months and to show what is achievable to put on an event like this.
Saint Ergo
Dina, what are you hoping to achieve by putting this event on?
I hope that this event is the first of many. I hope that we will be able to take this event around Australia eventually and see first hand the impact that it has on events around the country. It would be a dream to say that Groove Tunes played a part in paving the way in changing the landscape of live music.
Dina, do you have any comments/thoughts on the current state of accessibility in the music industry?
I think the conversation is being had which is a great step in the right direction. More industry professionals are taking steps to educate themselves and seek advice from Tibi and others. We do however have a long way to go but i am positive that we will continue taking more steps to a more inclusive industry.
Matilda Pearl
Saint Ergo, as a musician, do you have any comments/views on accessibility in the industry?
Accessibility is a huge problem in the industry, having worked as a live sound engineer, a musician and a patron, I have experienced the issues from all sides of the stage whether this be stairs, narrow doorways, poor lighting, inaccessible stages and excessive sound pressure levels. I think there are many venue owners that want to invest in bringing their venues up to standard but it’s expensive and the return from live shows is pretty marginal, especially with original emerging artists. The pipelines for career development are very contingent on the charity, generosity and love from venue owners, promoters, producers and live sound engineers and other stakeholders. Not many people get paid what they need to make a living and there is much downward pressure to perform for nothing, for exposure and without significant investment in the community, there will be not much industry let alone an accessible one without government support.
Dina, do you have plans for similar future events? Anything in the pipeline?
The ultimate goal is to make this an annual event and eventually take it around the country. We would love to continue showcasing different artists with disability and show people how simple it can be to create an inclusive event.
The Grogans
Saint Ergo, what are you most looking forward to about performing as part of it?
I am most looking forward to sharing my songs without feeling like I have to hide in a wine cellar for a week afterward. LOL. But seriously, I want to really be an inspiration to other artists who live with a disability and dream to be professional musicians. It’s possible with the right support.
Saint Ergo, what’s your number one goal for when you perform at Groove Tunes?
My number one goal is to bring my authentic self to the stage.
What does the existence of accessible events like Groove Tunes mean to you?
Dina: It means opening the doors to a community and demographic that is often excluded.
Saint Ergo: It is the difference between having a sustainable career as a live musician. There is so much talent and authentic lived experience that the public needs to access. I believe that this event can be a seed to grow a new cultural conversation that empowers all members of society.
Groove Tunes takes place at The Corner Hotel (Melbourne) on 19 March.
This story originally appeared on our queer sister site, FROOTY.
