Pianists and keyboard players of Adelaide will have their chance to shine with the Keys To The City mini-festival as part of Umbrella: Winter City Sounds.
The event is organised and curated by indie musician and event manager Jasmyn Birch as a way of highlighting the talents of emerging local artists and bands that feature piano and keyboards.
“I thought I'd put on something that gives the keyboard players a bit more of a spotlight and gives them their own, little show to showcase what they're doing, because there's heaps of different stuff going on,” Jasmyn says.
Keys To The City brings together 18 acts for a day of music spanning a vast, sonic landscape – from traditional styles to modern experimentalism. “This event really encompasses a lot of different genres, so even though we're focusing on keyboards it doesn't have a specific genre that it's focusing on,” Jasmyn says.
“It goes from traditional styles like classical and jazz and blues – we've got a lot of artists like that – but then also more contemporary styles like pop, rock and [the artists'] own takes on R&B and electronica.”
With the expansion of Umbrella: Winter City Sounds in its third year beyond the city's CBD and into the surrounding suburbs, more space is opening up for niche events such as Keys To The City and the varied palette of live-music opportunities they offer.
A new addition to the Umbrella: Winter City Sounds programme, Jasmyn is hopeful Keys To The City grows to become an ongoing part of the festival. “The hope is that every year it grows a bit bigger,” she says.
“It was an extreme shock booking this event as to how many keyboard-focussed acts there are, I really wasn't expecting it.
"There was a big interest in all the acts that wanted to play, so that was great and hopefully we build a name for ourselves this year and next year we come back a bit bigger.”
